Fall Alone
by beads33
Summary: Dick hasn't been Batman for very long, but it is already proving to be the hardest thing he has ever done. Damian is a handful by himself. On top of that, Damian and Tim are constantly arguing. So, what happens when a group of major villains start working together while the Bat-Family is falling apart? Can Dick bring everyone back together or will he have to do it all on his own?
1. Catalyst

**Summary:** Dick Grayson hasn't been Batman for very long, but it is already proving to be harder than anything else he has ever done. Damian is a handful by himself. Damian and Tim are constantly arguing. So, what happens when a group of major villains start working together while the Bat-Family is falling apart? Can Dick bring everyone back together or will he have to do it on his own?

**Chapter 1: Catalyst**

Dick hated stakeouts.

The boredom was too much for him to handle. He lowered his chin to his chest and took a deep breath. A side glance allowed him to see Damian sitting on the ledge, chin resting on his hand as he lay hunched over, elbows on his knees.

"Batman, we've been sitting here for hours. I'm starting to believe your "hunch" about tonight's criminal activities were, not surprisingly, wrong," Robin said without looking toward him.

"Robin, you will learn that patience is a virtue."

"T-t."

The more nights Damian and he worked alongside each other, the easier he found it to ignore the boy's snarky comments. Even still, he worried about the boy. How was he going to control the ex-assassin? While he believed himself to be good with kids, he didn't consider himself good with Damian type kids. Children like Lian Harper, Roy daughter, were more his speed. There were some nights he would rather be in a princess gown playing tea party than dealing with Damian's _literal_ natural killer instinct.

Dick re-positioned himself on the building's ledge, stretching his tired muscles. Damian was right about one thing, they had been sitting here for hours. But he was wrong about the other, Dick knew the deal was going down tonight, the question was just when. Quite frankly, any minute now would be wonderful. He knew he had to be bored when he was practically begging for crime to happen.

"Batman, there is movement on the top floor in the penthouse suite."

Dick turned on the binoculars in his cowl. He put the hotels penthouse suite in his line of sight and zoomed in. _Bingo._ Dick recognized one of Scarecrow's henchmen walking into the room with a briefcase.

"I wonder what's in the briefcase…" Dick started to say.

"Really? It's obviously some variant form of Scarecrow's fear toxin," Damian interrupted.

Dick stared at the boy for a moment. "You really need to get used to working me, because I was going to finish by saying, I'm a little AFRAID of finding out. But as you know, I never got that far."

Damian snorted, "The real Batman wouldn't have time for childish puns."

"Well, yeah. That should be your job, considering the fact you're the child. But I'll pick up your slack," Dick joked back standing up. He took out his grabbling hook and pointed it toward the building across from them. As he pressed the mechanism's release button, he could sense Damian's glare on the back of his head, but it only made him smile more. _The kid would learn. Eventually._

With planned precision, Batman broke through the large glass window of the penthouse suite feet first, and then barrel rolled till he was crouched on his feet. A few seconds later, he heard Robin land beside him.

"Sorry to drop in like this boys, but I think this meeting is going to have to take a rain check," Batman said with a small grin.

A laugh to his left made Batman turn his head. _Stupid cowl. Simple things like turning my head could be so much easier if this thing was just a little bit looser. No wonder Bruce was always so gruff and tense. _In front of him Scarecrow stood with his cloth mask over his head.

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you Batman, but this meeting isn't exactly one that can merely be rescheduled. So, I am afraid, I'll have to ask that your interference be cut short," Scarecrow stated with a stitched evil grin, "Boys, get rid of them."

And just like that, all hell broke loose. Within seconds Batman and Robin were surrounded by Scarecrow's thugs. Batman punched the nearest one in the chest, knocking him into the thug standing behind him sending them both to the ground. As soon as his foot touched the ground again, he used it to kick off into a roundhouse kick, making contact with a thug's hand, kicking the knife out of the man's grasp. He proceeded in punching the man in the head. The man stumbled back holding his nose until he backed up over a table, which he toppled over, landing in a ball on the ground.

Batman went to engage another thug when Robin backed up into him causing him to lose his balance, "Robin!"

"Watch where you're going, Batman," Robin growled out as he returned to fighting.

_Really? _The two of them worked terribly together. The boy wasn't even aware where he was. Bruce and he had been so in sync they could take out two dozen thugs in a few minutes. Damian and he could barely take out half of that without running into each other.

Batman tried to regain his composure, but before he could stand back up, a thug had taken a baseball bat to his back. The pain caused Dick to grimace. _A criminal meeting in a thousand-dollars a night penthouse suite and this guy brings a bat. Classy. _As the thug reared back to take another blow, Batman balanced his weight on his hands and spun his feet out from under him to sweep the thug off his feet.

He stood up and surveyed the room. Robin was sparring with one thug, until a weak, hopefully not lethal, jab to the throat sent the criminal to the ground.

"Robin! You know not to use lethal force," Batman ordered from across the room.

Robin snorted, "He should be fine." _Key word, should, _thought Dick.

"Aw, Batman and Robin not playing so nice together?" Scarecrow mockingly questioned.

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Just hand over the toxin Crane and we won't have any issues."

"Haha, you remind me of the Joker with your jokes, Batman. Hand it over. Sure, let me just hand over my most prized possession. This form of my fear toxin is so potent that I don't think even you can fight it," Scarecrow paused with an evil grin, "But there is only one way to find out."

With that Scarecrow took out a remote.

"Robin, gas mask on!" Batman shouted as Scarecrow hit the button.

"I figured you would show tonight Batman, so I had the room pre-set when some of my new toxin to try out on you. Maybe one day you'll learn not to mingle in my personal business."

Batman began running toward Scarecrow, but it was already too late. The room was filled with the yellow gas. Crane was right; the gas was extremely powerful, too powerful for his gas mask even. It began seeping into his mouth and he could taste the foul gas on his tongue. It traveled quickly into his lungs causing him to keel over onto his knees. Through the pain and confusion, he looked up to find Robin through the yellow haze. The boy was hunched over on the ground screaming. Being so small, it was evident the gas was going through Damian's system faster than Dick's. It probably also helped that Dick had been exposed to other forms of Scarecrow's fear toxin before.

Batman began searching through his utility belt for the cure, but when he looked down he was shocked to find his belt gone, replaced by a belt made up of miniature skulls. He recognized the faces of those who had lost. _It's all in your mind, Grayson. The toxin is in the same compartment that it has always been…which just happens to be within the skull of my father…_

Even with his pep talk, he still couldn't find the toxin. _Where is it? How much time has passed?_

He tried to stand up, but found his legs to be shaky. When he looked down, he noticed his legs were missing. _No, it's just a hallucination caused by the toxin. You still have legs, Grayson. For goodness sake, you can still feel them._

Batman looked up to see Scarecrow laughing at him, however, it was no longer Scarecrow laughing at him but…_Bruce._

"Really, Dick? I would have never gotten myself into this situation. I'm disappointed in you."

_Ignore it, it is just in your head. _

"Dick, you should've let someone else take over the mantle and take care of Damian. You're not doing a very good job," the imaginary Bruce continued.

Dick tried with all his strength to ignore the words, but _that voice._ He hadn't heard that voice in months. It wasn't Bruce, but it might as well have been. The figure in front of him was extremely life-like, from the shiny black shoes to the shiny black hair. The only thing missing was the life in the vision's blue eyes. The look of disappointment was there, but the essence of life wasn't.

"Maybe, if you had died when Two-Face beat you or the Joker shot you, we wouldn't be in this situation. I would still be Batman and would defeat crime with my _real _son," the fake Bruce hissed. _Oh, Grayson, you clearly need some therapy._

Dick began walking toward the hallucination in front of him.

"No," it was Scarecrow's voice now coming through, "maybe you just need a larger dose." Bruce pulled out a gun and Dick felt a dart hit him the chest. Before he had become Batman, the suit would have easily kept the dart from hitting skin, but Dick had altered the suit to accommodate for his fighting style. This meant, he had sacrificed the armor to allow for more fluid, acrobatic movements.

The second dosage was too much, he found himself once more on the ground. Dick was shaking. The sense of fear was growing inside of him. Majority of the gas was escaping through the open window Robin and he had entered through, but the toxin wasn't lessening its effects. He lifted his head to look for Scarecrow, but Dick found the man gone. _Crap. Scarecrow got away._

The world was spinning and he felt like he was falling. Next thing he knew, he was falling. Dick was back in the big top, falling to the floor. He landed on the ground next to the bodies of his dead parents. Dick couldn't feel his body and couldn't turn his head to look away. Suddenly, the eyes of his father opened and lifelessly stared at him.

"You didn't just disappoint Bruce, that man you replaced me with, but you've disappointed me, as well," John Grayson stated with a look of hatred on his face. _It isn't real. You can move, you just feel like you can't. Get up, Grayson. _But he didn't get up. The taunts continued, from his father, his mother, and the Bruce from earlier. He could feel tears on the corner of his eyes, but he choked them back. _If you cry, Damian will never let you live it down. _

Through the constant taunts, Dick heard footsteps.

"Batman!"

_Tim, that's Tim._

He felt a needle in his arm and knew he was probably a cure for the toxin. Slowly the figures disappeared and Dick found himself in the penthouse suite once again, not the big top floor. He tried to move, but found his body unresponsive. _Scarecrow must have put a paralyzer in that last dosage. _No wonder he felt like he couldn't move, he literally couldn't.

From his place on the ground, he could see Red Robin administering the cure to Damian who was still shaking uncontrollably on the floor. When he was done, Red Robin turned around to face Dick.

"Can you move?"

"No, I think Scarecrow hit me with some type of paralyzer," Dick reported sadly. _How did I mess up so badly to get into this situation? I really am a horrible Batman. Bruce would have never let this happen. _

Red Robin moved over to him and stuck another needle into Dick's arm through the Batman armor, "That should give you feeling back in a few minutes."

Tim was right. Within a few minutes, Dick was sitting up rubbing his muscles to get the feeling back. In the corner of the room, Robin sat crossed leg on the ground with his hood over his head.

"Well, I think we should definitely call it a night," Batman said after searching the room for any evidence that might be useful to finding where Scarecrow had run away to. Red Robin informed the cops of their location, so the villain's henchmen could be taken care of accordingly.

The car ride back wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Damian was usually quiet but tonight the silence was deafening.

"Damian, whatever you saw, it was just in your mind."

"I know that, Grayson, I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were," Dick replied in a soft tone.

"Your statement implied it," was the harsh response.

How was he supposed to comfort this kid? If he hugged the kid, he would probably be murdered in his sleep. _Could be worth it._ He'd think about it.

As they pulled into the cave, Dick spotted Red Robin's motorcycle. Before he even fully parked the Batmobile, Damian was already out the side.

"Your interference was not necessary Drake," Damian said with a stern face as he passed Tim.

"Oh, really now? Well, if I hadn't interfered, I'm pretty sure you would be in the fetal position rocking back and forth till you slowly lost your mind," Tim growled back in response.

"T-t. If you honestly believe your help was needed, you're more ignorant than I originally presumed," Damian came back, still stern-faced.

Tim's face began contorting in anger as he approached Damian, hands in fists. "Look here…"

"Tim, stand down," Dick finally interfered turning away from the computer, "Your help was greatly appreciated. Truthfully, I wish it hadn't been needed." He turned back around to type a passcode into the main computer.

With Dick's back turned, Tim gave Damian a told-you-so face and glared at the younger boy.

"Whatever. Grayson won't be there to save you when you're alone at night."

Tim became heated again, "Who do you think you are threatening me? Especially, when I just saved you."

"Tim!" Dick shouted this time walking toward his two younger partners, "Calm down."

"He is the one threatening me!"

"Yeah, well you're the older one, so act like it."

At this comment, Damian laughed and took his leave from the cave. As soon as the youngest Bat-Family member was gone, Tim looked toward Dick with an angry expression.

"Why are you always taking his side, Dick? I don't know if you remember, but I was here first."

"Tim, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but Damian needs my attention right now more than you do. The kid's a loose cannon. Tim, he could easily kill someone. I mean, he almost did tonight!"

"So, you think him threatening me is the best way to handle his anger? I'm not a tool, Dick, I'm a human being. One that thought you were his big brother," Tim spat.

"Tim…" Dick's voice trailed off. That last comment struck home. He wasn't trying to push his brother away, he was just trying to make Damian feel like he had a friend. The boy wouldn't change overnight, especially if he felt like he didn't belong. Things had been tough since Bruce's death. Everyone tended to handle things differently, and Tim was handling Bruce's death with full denial.

"Save it. There is nothing left to say here. I save you guys and this is the thanks I get," Tim said as he turned away. Dick couldn't think of the words to say right now. He couldn't please everyone, he was only one person.

Suddenly, Dick found himself wondering how Bruce had handled everything, the mission, the double life, and the sidekicks. Had he always been this hot-headed and stubborn? The sound of Tim's motorcycle engine starting made Dick turn to watch as the boy revved the bike and sped off. Eventually he would make Tim understand where he was coming from, but right now he couldn't even understand it himself. He just knew this was the right thing to do, a little parental intuition possibly.

Besides, he had bigger issues to deal with, mainly Scarecrow and his potent fear toxin that was loose somewhere in the city.


	2. Two Sides to Every Story

**A/N:** In terms of Tim, this story is taking place after Red Robin #1. Therefore, he already has the costume, but he is back in Gotham for a bit. Anyway!

**Disclaimer that I forgot to put in the first chapter:** Don't own these characters and will not be making a profit off of them.

**Chapter 2: Two Sides to Every Story**

Tim couldn't believe Dick was still taking the little brat's side on every issue. Eventually, he had gotten over the fact the kid was wearing the Robin costume. He had even gotten over the kid calling him Drake instead of Wayne. However, he couldn't get over Dick's betrayal. They all thought he was hot-headed and in denial. They were all wrong. They might think him crazy, but he knew he was right. Bruce Wayne was alive. And if nobody else was going to look for him, he would do it alone.

As he sat on the dingy couch, he thought of when he was going to leave Gotham again. He needed to get out of here now. He had recently come back from yet another international city he had visited trying to follow a lead on Bruce's whereabouts.

Tim looked around the apartment he had gotten for himself for the time being. He wasn't trying to hide from Dick, more like avoid him. His brother had called several times earlier that night, but Tim had ignored all the calls. If Dick was going to choose the kid over him as Robin, fine. He was going to choose a solo career over a partnership, especially after yesterday's events. If he hadn't come back to Gotham, the dynamic duo would have lost their minds in the penthouse suite of that hotel.

However, Damian would never admit Tim was needed in Gotham. In some ways, the kid was probably right. Dick had said he needed him, "you're my closest ally," Dick had told him when he first questioned the older man's decision regarding the Robin identity. But Dick would get by without him. Did he really believe the duo would have lost their minds? Even if he hadn't showed up yesterday, Dick would have figured something out, he always did.

It didn't matter though. The pair wasn't the reason he had come back to Gotham and yesterday had reminded him of that. Besides, the old moral fighting style of Batman and Robin was no longer his way of handling things. If he wanted to find Bruce, he would have to focus and begin tying up the loose ends he was slowly uncovering. He needed to focus.

* * *

Had the manor always been this dark at night? Damian stared at the ceiling in his room and shook as a cold chill swept over him. _It was all in your head, just like Grayson said._ He buried himself further into the covers as the images once again flashed through his brain. _Stop being so weak. If mother knew a few images were turning you into a coward, you would be punished immediately._

He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. Unfortunately, as soon as his eyelids shut, the blackness came alive with the images. _Father._

_No, no. He's gone._

Damian sat up in his bed. He hadn't gotten any sleep since yesterday's events. All he wanted was a few hours of rest, but it looked as if tonight would be the same. He looked at the clock; _we'll be going on patrol soon._

Maybe if he stayed up through patrol, he would become so tired he might fall asleep in the car on the way back. It wasn't like he really had a choice; he wasn't going to sleep beforehand anyway.

* * *

Dick sat in front of the computer. He rubbed his eyes as another wave of exhaustion washed over him. He needed sleep, but he couldn't get any until he found some type of lead. Besides, tonight's patrol would start in about an hour. He looked at his phone and thought about trying to call Tim again. The younger boy was changing. His fighting techniques were getting close to the line Bruce had laid down for them all. Dick wished he could talk to his brother, but things got tenser between them every time they met. He was afraid if they met up again, it would push Tim over the edge into solitude.

The sound of footsteps made him spin around. Behind him, Damian stood already half-dressed in his Robin gear.

"What are you doing down here so early?" Dick asked.

"Don't you mean late? It's close to midnight, not after it," Damian responded.

Dick sighed, he was too tired for the boys smart ways, "Okay, fine, what are you doing down here so late?"

Damian flashed a brief face of confusion when Dick didn't reply with his usual fun banter. Finally he replied, "I just couldn't sleep."

At first Dick didn't see anything wrong with this statement, but after processing the words over again in his head he realized something_. Did this have something to do with the fear toxin?_ Dick looked at Damian. The boy seemed fine, but would he really show it if he wasn't?

"Is everything okay?"

The boy just stood there. _Had the boy ever been asked about how he was? Had anyone ever shown him such simple attention?_ Dick didn't know, and for some reason he was afraid of the answer. It was probably no. Dick couldn't imagine a world with no love in it. Sure, there were nights when Bruce had overworked him, demanding more and more from him than his body could handle without so much as a good job. But, still. He knew Bruce cared. The man hadn't been the best at displaying it, but he had known, they had all known.

When Bruce had taken the Robin identity away from him all those years ago, it was because he had cared. At the time he hadn't realized that, but now, years later, he knew.

"I'm fine," was the response that brought Dick back to the present.

"Well, since you're up, you want to help me?"

Damian looked past him at the computer, "T-t. You would need my help."

Dick smiled. The tiredness in his body kept the smile small, but it was there. The kid may be a pain some times, but he was tough. The question was, how tough was he? He was just a kid.

Dick moved over to allow Damian to see the computer screen. Right when he was about inform the kid of everything he currently knew, an alert came up on the screen.

"Looks like we'll be going out on patrol a little earlier than expected. The museum is being broken in to. Who would've thought? Million dollar investor brings rare ruby stone into Gotham and someone tries to steal it. I did not see that coming!"

"T-t. Again, with the unnecessary jokes."

Dick laughed and ruffled the kid's hair with his hand, "Just finish getting dressed."

The look on the kids face was priceless. Maybe hugging him wouldn't get him murdered. He would definitely have to try it now.

* * *

The museum was extremely quiet when Batman and Robin arrived. The alarm that alerted the police hadn't been triggered yet. Dick had installed a specialized alarm a week ago in anticipation for the attempted thievery of the rare stone.

Dick had a hunch of who they were dealing with, but to assume in this business could get one killed. However, his hunch was proven correct when a purr came from the shadows.

"Well, looky here. This must be the new Robin. Oh, isn't he a cutie," Catwoman said as she neared Robin, placing a sharp claw under his chin.

"T-t. Don't touch me"

"Oh, he is feisty. I like him. Not quite as tall as you were when you were in his pants," she came back turning her attention to Dick.

"Selena, would it be too simple to ask you to just leave the ruby alone?" Batman asked.

Selena laughed, "Of course! You expect me to just pass up this beautiful gem? I couldn't keep my claws off if I tried."

She continued nearing Batman, pushing her body up against his as she purred the last statement out. Dick ignored her and waited for her to make the first move. However, they were interrupted when the real alarm in the museum went off.

Batman turned to Catwoman, "It wasn't me," she insisted.

"Well, then it looks like we have company."

Batman and Robin left Catwoman behind who snarled silently.

The duo entered the room where the gem was being kept. Inside were about six to seven thugs. Batman took out a batarang and threw it at the man reaching for the ruby. The man reared his hand back in pain, holding it close to his chest. The group turned to face the Dark Knight.

"How did he get here so quick?!"

"Told ya he would show!"

The exclamations from the group continued until Dick interrupted them, "Let's just finish this so we can go home. Or in your cases, jail."

The fight that ensued was an easy one for the pair. The thugs weren't particularly difficult to bring down. It was so easy Dick was almost worried. There had to be more. And of course, there was. A laugh from the shadows was the answer.

"Dent," Batman growled.

Two-Face walked out clapping, "Bravo. That little show was impressive as always. But did you really think that was all?"

"What do you want with the ruby Dent?" Batman asked, ignoring the man's words.

"Well, as you know. Scarecrow has come out with his most potent fear toxin ever. I want in on his little business, but I need a buy in. This little ruby will be just that."

_Two-Face and Scarecrow working together?_ Could his night get any worse? On a positive not, if he took down Two-Face it could possibly give him the lead he's been looking for.

"There is only one problem with your plan though," Batman stated.

"And what would that be?"

"You're not getting the ruby," Robin answered for Batman. Two-Face looked at the boy, but laughed at the tough face the youngest was putting on.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but I'm not working alone." With his words, more thugs came out the shadows.

"Neither am I," Batman growled. He tried to remember how long the alarm had been going off? _Three minutes? Five minutes?_ Either way, the police would be getting here soon. They needed to finish this before that happened.

The thugs moved toward the duo and the fight began. Batman took two thugs at once, kicking one and punching the other. More and more came at him, but he handled each one with relative ease. Various thugs were grabbing ancient weaponry that was on displayed in the museum.

A scream rose above the fight.

"Robin?!" Dick fought harder through the thugs to find the kid. He found him on the ground with a man standing above him with a sword.

"I'm sorry. I failed," Damian was mumbling.

Quickly, Batman tackled the thug with the sword. He ran back to Robin and helped him sit up.

"What was that?" Batman hurriedly asked.

Robin hesitated, "Nothing. It was nothing."

Dick knew it was far from nothing, but right now was not the time to probe the kid with questions. He turned around to find Two-Face running away with the gem in a bag. Dick began running after him. The criminal led him up three flights of stairs to the roof.

On the way up, he could finally hear the police sirens in the distance. They would be here within the next five minutes.

Once on the roof, Batman ran into a confrontation between Two-Face and Catwoman. Currently, Selena was trying to coax the gem away from the villain, while Dent pointed a gun toward the burglar.

"Get out of my way honey. You're not involved."

"Actually, you have what I came here for, which makes me involved. Just give me back what's mine and nobody gets hurt."

Dent laughed and shot toward the woman who merely flipped out the way. Batman decided now was his time to interfere and engaged Two-Face in one on one combat. The man was no match for his fighting, however, when Catwoman became involved, it made the situation tougher. Several times the bag with the gem switched possession, but now, it lay on the ground away from the trio's reach after Catwoman kicked it out of Two-Face's hand. When she dived for it, Batman sent out his grabbling hook pulling her back toward him. With the other two distracted, Two-Face ran toward the bag and grabbed it, heading toward the ledge of the building.

The sirens were closer now, practically right outside the building. As Catwoman lay tied up, Dick ran after Two-Face for the second time that night. He tackled the villain and the two of them rolled across the building's surface onto the glass that made up part of the roof. Dick heaved a breath of relief when the glass didn't break. With Two-Face under him, he was confident he had him.

"I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about Batman," Two-Face stated. The villain's face was pushed up against the glass that held him up, "I think you should be more worried about your little bird."

Batman looked past the man's head into the museum. Robin was there engaging the man with the sword from earlier. Dick had thought he had knocked the thug out, but he guessed not. Robin was clearly shaken up again by the sight of the sword. When the thug approached him, Dick watched as Damian stole the sword and threw the thug on the ground in front of him.

Batman knew Robin had used swords during his assassin days. And right now, he had a bad feeling about the boy having one in his hands again. Dick watched as the boy stood over the helpless man three stories below him. Robin pulled the sword back over his head, both hands on the handle. He was going in for a kill shot.

"Robin!" Batman yelled, but the boy didn't hear him. _No, no, no. _He couldn't let the boy kill. Batman stood up and Two-Face got up as well, grabbing the bag as he did. Dick did the only thing he could think of. He shot his grabbling hook at the villain, hoping he would still be here when he got back and used the heel of his shoe to break the glass under him.

As he fell into the building, he yelled Robin's name again. He used another grabbling hook to swing himself safely to the floor.

Damian had heard him enter from the roof and stood frozen with the sword over his head as Batman approached him. When he reached the boy, Batman jerked the weapon out of the boys hands, "Go to the car."

No come back. The boy just looked between him and the weapon. The police were here now. He could hear them running through the building. Robin lowered his head and turned to leave toward the back alleyway.

Dick sighed. Once again, everything had gone so wrong. He punched the thug Damian had nearly killed, knocking the man out for the police to find.

When he made it back to the roof, he found two sets up ropes lying empty. Catwoman and Two-Face had both gotten away and one had gotten what they wanted. Personally, it would be a good night if Selena had gotten away with the gem. However, he wasn't so lucky._ Two-Face and Scarecrow working together_, he thought. He was going to need help.

* * *

Dick hadn't said a word on the way back to the cave, and neither had Damian. When they arrived back, Alfred was there with food ready, however, neither partner took any.

"Alfred, can we be alone?" Dick asked.

"Of course, Master Dick," Alfred answered as he exited the cave.

Dick had thought the entire way back about what he was going to say to the boy. However, it all went out the window when he started to speak, the emotion taking over him.

"You know we don't kill."

At first Damian didn't reply, but just stared at his shoes, "I didn't kill anyone."

"You were going to Damian," Dick yelled turning toward the younger, "I saw you. I had to stop you from killing that man."

"Well, I didn't go through with it."

"Because I stopped you!" Dick paused to take in air. He pinched his nose as he tried to calm himself. He had no idea how to control an ex-assassin. He couldn't always be there when Damian got caught up in the moment.

"It won't happen again."

"You bet it won't happen again. I'm taking you off this case."

Damian was clearly taken aback, "What? You can't take me off this case. You need my help."

"You won't be helping much if Scarecrow's fear toxin takes this much effect on you," Dick said sitting down in front of the computer turning away from Damian.

"I'm fine! The toxin has done nothing to me!" Damian argued.

"Clearly, that isn't true. You were terrified of the man when he had a sword," Dick paused, "I can't have you as a liability during this case. If Scarecrow hits you with another dosage, I'm afraid you may not be able to handle it."

"I'm fine!" Damian continued to yell at the back of the chair.

Dick turned back around standing up, "You're off this case until the toxin is out of your system. That's an order."

Damian was fuming, "You're not my father. You're not the real Batman. You can't order me around!"

Dick's eyes narrowed as he stared at the boy, "I'm the Batman who made you Robin and I can take the privilege away whenever I feel it is in your best interest."

Damian's face was turning red with anger, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He simply snorted and threw his mask on the ground which he had held in a tight fist. As the boy disappeared up the stairs toward the manor, Dick looked at the ground. Suddenly, the exhaustion took its toll on him and he fell back into the chair.

Children were always afraid they would become like their parents. The reason they feared it, was because it happened. He rested his head back and stared into the darkness above him. He was exactly like Bruce. He had just taken the Robin identity away from someone with their best interest in mind. Dick felt guilty now. He knew how Bruce had felt all those years ago when he had walked out the cave in anger.

"You did the right thing Master Dick."

Dick looked down from the ceiling, "I don't feel like I did, Alfred."

Alfred stared at the tired man in front of him, "The boy hasn't slept in two days, because of the nightmares, which I am sure are due to the toxin. He needs to rest until it is out of system."

Dick closed his eyes and leaned over, placing his head in his hands, "I'm just afraid, Alfred."

"If I may ask, Master Dick, of what?"

Dick sighed before replying, "The only thing scarier than trying to control Damian, is trying to control an angry Damian."


	3. You Can't Pick Your Family

**Disclaimer**: I do not own these characters and will not be making a profit off of them.

**A/N:** Is at that end of the chapter

**colerfulldarkness666**: This chapter should answer your question!

**Chapter 3:** You Can't Pick Your Family

A few days later, Dick's Scarecrow and Two-Face case was still making no progress. Neither villain had made an appearance since the break in at the museum. Besides the disappointment regarding the case keeping him down, Damian was moping around the manor and avoiding Dick when possible. He would walk into a room to find a shadow escaping out the door on the other side.

He hadn't meant to hurt the kid's feelings. Dick knew he was making backwards progress at this point trying to make the ex-assassin feel like he belonged. What was he going to do? He wanted to talk to the kid, but he couldn't get within 15 feet of him.

On a positive note, Damian hadn't gone against his orders and was actually staying at the manor instead of sneaking out at night to follow him on patrol. According to Alfred though, the youngest was still having nightmares. Dick promised himself he would pass by Damian's room tonight to see for himself. Maybe there was something he could say that would make the kid feel better. But Dick tried to push it to the back of his mind as he stared out at the city from his perch on top of a building.

For the most part, the night had been relatively quiet. He had stopped a few petty crimes, but nothing of the Scarecrow and Two-Face magnitude. As he sat on the building, he found it harder and harder to focus. He really, really needed to sleep, but he was so restless lately. Every time he tried, he was reminded of all the things he had to do, all the leads he could follow, and all the people he needed to talk to.

Thinking of people he needed to talk to, he needed to call Tim. _Well, not call._ Tim hadn't answered any of Dick's calls over the past week. Stephanie had informed him that Tim had a new headquarters, but Dick had asked that she not tell him the location. If he found out, he would be over there in a heartbeat, and Dick knew that it would just push Tim further away. Tim already felt like he couldn't trust Steph, and if he found out she had sold out his hiding place, he would never be able to trust her again.

Dick's thoughts where interrupted by a scream in the alley below him. Without a moment's hesitation, Batman was off the building's ledge jumping into the black abyss below him using his cape to glide safely to the alleyway's floor. Upon landing, he assessed the situation before him from the shadows. A woman was backed into a corner by two rather large men.

"If you don't fight back, you won't get hurt," one of the men told the woman.

Batman growled from the shadows, "More like, if **you** don't fight back, **you** won't get hurt."

"It's the Bat!"

Batman advanced toward the two thugs who had completely turned their attention away from the woman. As he sparred with one of the men, he found it harder than usual. _You should've slept, Grayson. You're paying for it now. _His punches were slow and so were his reactions. Simple hits he would have easily avoided the day before were making contact.

While trying to take down the first thug, he lost track of the second one. However, the thug made himself known when a knife wedged itself into Dick's arm. The armor kept most of it from penetrating skin, but part of it did causing Dick to cry out in surprise. His adrenaline rose and he decided to end this now. He focused all his attention on the fight and grabbed the hand that held the knife. He spun the thug's arm around till it was behind his back. He twisted it with as much force as he dared short of breaking the arm in two. Batman let go and the thug fell forward in obvious pain.

The man's partner tried to sneak up on him, but Batman was prepared. He hit the man with a sharp uppercut to the jaw followed by a swift punch in the gut. The man fell over on the ground unconscious. Batman spun around to face the other thug, but he lay on the ground clutching his injured arm. As Dick approached the man cried out, "No, I give up. Just leave me alone! Please!"

"Funny, I think that woman from earlier was thinking the same thing," Batman replied. It was all bark though. Dick was done here. He dragged the shaking man and his unconscious partner to a pole and handcuffed them to it for the police to find. He had been a little rougher than need be, but he was done. His exhaustion had reached an all-time high and his arm was throbbing.

As he turned to leave he heard something. It sounded close to whimpering. _The woman from earlier._ Dick followed the sound until he found the woman lying in a ball on the alleyway floor not far away. The sound of him approaching startled her, and she looked up at him yelling, "Get away! Don't come any closer!"

Batman stopped short, "I'm just here to help you and make sure you're alight."

"No, go away!"

Batman took a closer look at the woman. Her eyes were heavily dilated and she was shaking violently. _Drugs maybe?_ Then she began screaming again. Dick listened to her words and noticed she was yelling at things that weren't really there. The woman wasn't seeing Batman in front of her, she was seeing someone or something else_._ She continued repeating how sorry she was to nobody. That's when it hit him, _Scarecrow's fear toxin. _He had seen these symptoms before.

He reached into his utility belt and took out a needle. First, he was going to take a blood sample to test back at the cave. Second, he would administer the cure to the woman. However, taking blood from a hallucinating woman without hurting her proved to be more difficult than Dick had hoped. Eventually though, he had the sample and placed it safely into his belt. As the woman lay shaking in his hold, he administered the cure and she immediately calmed down. Dick let her go so she could lean against the wall.

Of all the people to save tonight, a random woman affected by the fear toxin. Question was, was it the new form or an older one? If it was the new form, there could be a lead here. Small dosages of the old toxins, however, could be found in local gangs who had enough money to buy it from Crane. However, Dick had a feeling Crane wouldn't be selling his new stuff to petty criminals off the street. He was looking to make a lot of money.

He searched the now still woman for some type of identification. Once he found some, he recorded the information for further use. If it proved to be the new form of the toxin, he would be back to question the woman about tonight's events.

Until then though, he contacted the police and waited for their arrival. From the shadows, he watched as they tended to the now semi-conscious woman. Knowing she was in safe hands now, he headed back to the Bat-mobile. As he closed the roof of the car, Dick felt the tiredness for the first time since his adrenaline had kicked in. _  
_

It was still somewhat early into the night, but Dick was heading back home. He needed to get the wound tended to before it became infected. Dick revved the engine and disappeared into the night.

When he arrived back at the cave, he took off the top half of his armor and looked at the fresh wound on his arm.

"Master Dick, if I may say, I wish you wouldn't go out with little to no rest."

"I'm starting to feel the same way, Alfred," Dick replied as the older man stitched his wounds.

After Alfred finished, he asked, "Will you require anything else from me?"

"No, Alfred. You can head off to bed. I will soon, so don't worry about me. I can't stay up much longer if I tried," Dick answered, giving Alfred a reassuring Grayson smile.

"Let's hope so for your sake."

Dick laughed, "I imagine you would be the only person excited to see me just pass out anywhere in the cave or manor."

"If I see you sleeping against a banister or face down on the ground, and you're still breathing, it's a good night in my book."

"Thanks Alfred, for everything."

Alfred patted the younger man on his shoulder. Dick watched as the older man walked up the stairs to head back to the manor. As he sat alone in the cave, he suddenly felt cold, but he enjoyed it. After nights of running around the city, it felt good to simply sit and feel again. He leaned back in the chair. Even then, he found himself nodding off. He would start a search for the chemicals he had recovered at the scene and he would head off to bed.

As he typed the search perimeters into the computer a reflection in the screen caught his attention along with glint of red.

_Jason._

"What are you doing here Jason?" Dick asked not even turning around. Even without looking at his younger brother he could sense the smirk on his face.

"You've been really sloppy out there lately, Dickie-Bird," Jason said ignoring Dick's question. Dick didn't respond to Jason's taunting. He knew the second Robin was just trying to make him angry. The last time he had seen Jason the boy had been hanging off a train over the Gotham River. When he had let go of the train, Dick knew his younger brother hadn't died and if he had, he wouldn't have stayed dead long.

When Dick didn't reply, Jason continued, "So where is that little sidekick of yours? You know, the one that could prove to be useful to my campaign. He seems to like my fighting…"

"You will leave Damian out of this, Jay," Dick finally spoke, turning around. When he did turn around he was a little shocked by what he saw. In front of him, was Jason, but a rougher Jason than usual. The black hair was gone, replaced by fiery red with a grey streak down the center. Dick presumed it was from the Lazarus Pit, but still, it was different to see, and it caught him a little by surprise.

"What?" Jason asked smiling, "Is it the hair?" Dick again didn't reply, not wanting to indulge Jason by giving him much attention. "Well, you see. I'm trying to become my own man. And the last thing I want is keeping up Bruce's little charade of trying to turn me into you. Unfortunately for Bruce, I'll never be you, and I'm extremely happy about that. But seriously, does it matter? I mean, the man's dead."

"Don't talk about Bruce," Dick growled. Talking about Damian was one thing, but bringing up Bruce was another.

"Awh, is the Golden Boy still sad about daddy bats?" Jason mocked.

Dick was done. He tightened his fists and lunged at Jason. The younger caught his fist, but Dick kicked the boy in the chest with his boot sending him back.

"You wanna fight?"

"I want you out of my cave!"

The pair continued to spar until the clicking sound of a cocking gun made Dick freeze. He looked down to see the barrel tip of a gun against his chest. Every time he took a breath, his chest touched the cold metal.

"Look, I didn't come here to kill you, not yet anyway. I came here to warn you. If I'm going to take down the dynamic duo, I need the duo part. It proves nothing if I only take you down, which is easier than I remember," Jason paused smiling, "My sidekick and I want to prove once and for all that we are Gotham's true heroes. But like I said, your partner has been missing lately, which puts a dent in my plan."

"Why are you doing this Jason?"

"Because you shouldn't be Batman. You're not doing a very good job of it. Personally, I believe my rendition of the Bat mantle to be the most successful yet."

Dick groaned. Jason's twisted Batman persona came intact with lethal force and guns, the exact opposite of the legacy Bruce had left behind. He stared into Jason's smiling face. The boy was so angry, so tormented. Dick smacked the gun away from his chest and backed away from his younger brother. _The life he must be living. One filled with so much resentment and vengeance._

"Get out of here, Jay."

Jason snarled, displeased with Dick's sudden lack of emotion.

"If you don't bring backup, fine. I'll take you down either way. I'm just feeling nice today, so there is your warning."

"Well, gee. I won't expect anything for Christmas then," Dick angrily replied.

"Some things never change, Dickie-Bird. Your kindness will be the death of you."

Dick didn't reply, but he headed back to the computer to finish the beginning of his search.

"By the way," Jason added, "You should really think of upgrading the security in this place, it's a little out of date."

Dick listened as Jason laughed. However, when he turned around his younger brother was gone. Just when Dick wished that all human interaction was done for the day, Damian came out of the shadows.

"How long have you been there?" Dick asked.

"The real Batman wouldn't have to ask. He would have known the minute I entered the cave."

"I was a bit distracted, Damian," Dick sighed. Then, he remembered, _I had promised myself to check up on the kid tonight. Well, with that last statement, I diagnose the child as perfectly fine. Done. Time to go to bed. _However, it wouldn't be that straightforward.

"Well, either way. I heard everything. You need me, Grayson," Damian replied. Dick wanted to argue, but he couldn't find it within himself right now. He looked up at Damian. The kid looked almost as bad as he did. He was exhausted and Dick could tell he hadn't slept in a few days. He decided to be bold instead of arguing.

"Are the nightmares still keeping you up at night?" he asked rubbing his eyes with his hands.

Damian was taken aback, "I…I…I'm fine. I haven't had any nightmares."

"Sure," was the only response Dick gave at first. After a few moments of silence he added, "it's okay Damian. That stuff was strong. Because of that, I don't want you going out till it's fully out of your system. You're not used to it. The first time I was hit with the stuff I had nightmares for months," Dick paused when Damian said nothing, he continued, "It was like the few months after my parents died. I relived it over and over. Eventually I talked to someone. Eventually I handled it."

He didn't know if the kid would take to being personal, but he sort of hoped the tactic would work.

"I'm fine, Grayson," was the unfortunate response. _You really should invest in a parenting book. How to Make Your Vigilante Child Talk to You. That's probably easy to find in a store. _

"Well, then let's head to bed and discuss this later," Dick said, standing up. The search on the computer was under way and it would be done by the time he woke up, which he was hoping was quite some time from now.

Damian snorted, but followed suit, heading back upstairs.

* * *

Tim hadn't talked to Dick or Alfred since the last time he had gone to the cave. Honestly, he didn't plan on talking to them again till after he left Gotham, and they couldn't track him down. He knew Dick could easily find him, but so far his older brother had given him his space. Besides, he wouldn't be in the city much longer. He had already spent more time here than he had originally planned. While searching a Bruce lead in Paris, a group of assassins had tied themselves to his trail. With a group of assassins following him, he definitely didn't want to stay in one place for too long. But as far as he was concerned, he had left them behind back in Paris.

As he prowled through Gotham late that night, he found himself heading to a particular side of it. Soon, he found himself near a familiar place, Bruce's grave. He knew Bruce was alive, so he didn't know why he bothered showing up here. As he stood before the headstone, a voice came from behind.

"How you doing Tim?"

"What do you want Jason?" Tim replied turning around to face his older brother. Last time Tim had seen Jason, he had tried to give the older man a second chance at being a hero. However, it had proved to be a bust and Jason had killed people. _Just another mistake I've made. _Now, seeing the man in front of him again made him angry. He had tried to believe people could change, but he had been wrong.

"Well, you know, I've been trying to keep in touch with my brothers lately. According to some of my sources, your fighting style has become a bit more, should I say, my style," Jason answered.

"I'm still not killing people Jason."

"Not yet. But a think you and I both know with every day that line becomes blurrier and blurrier for you," Jason informed Tim with a smirk.

"Okay. But I asked what you wanted," Tim said.

"Awh, no need to be angry Timmy," Jason mocked, "I just wanted to know how long my dear brother was going to be in town."

"Not long," Tim growled.

"Shame," Jason replied smiling. With that, the older turned and left the cemetery clearly getting what he came there for.

Tim had lied. Now that he knew Jason was back, it appeared he would be staying in Gotham a little longer than he had anticipated. Dick was under enough stress with the little pugged-faced kid under his wing. The last thing his older brother needed was his other older brother showing up.

* * *

**A/N:** In Red Robin #3, Tim told Cassie that he had helped Jason break out of prison, because he believed Batman would have done the same. He honestly thought Jason could be a hero again, but then he did as Dick mentioned earlier, took on his own Batman persona and killed a bunch of people. Of course, as any good Bat-boy does, Tim blamed himself and held the guilt inside.

In addition, for Jason, this is set during Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin series. So, if you haven't read it or the Red Robin series, I highly recommend it. But during this time, Jason was out for revenge as the Red Hood against the dynamic duo, because he thought he could create a better crime fighting duo for Gotham, just using lethal force. If you haven't read the series, specifically the Red Hood Revenge story arc, I'll give more details about his above mentioned sidekick.

Lastly, this will possibly be my last update for this Spring Break. I have a 7 hour car drive tomorrow morning, an event Saturday, and a drive back up to school Sunday. Should be a fun next few days! Thanks for reading guys, it definitely makes me want to write faster, especially reviews!


	4. Reasons

**Disclaimer:**I do not own these characters and will not be making profit from this story.

**A/N:** Well, it's official, spring break is over, and I'm very much back into the busy college lifestyle. On top of that, this chapter wasn't my favorite to write, but it was needed to get the story rolling. The next few chapters, however, I'm looking forward to writing! Before all that, though, here's this chapter!

**Chapter 4: Reasons**

When Dick woke up, he quickly realized he wasn't in his own room. The space above the bed didn't have the Flying Graysons poster he was used to waking up to every morning. He sat up to get a better view of his surroundings. Dick was startled when something stirred near him, _Damian_. Dick remembered walking the boy to his room after they had talked in the cave. When they got to the room, however, Damian had asked if he could come in.

Somewhat taken aback, Dick had agreed and walked to the bed.

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

"T-t, no, Grayson," had been the unexpected response.

"Well, ok. So, how was your day?"

"It was boring, Grayson, since I'm not allowed to do anything exciting."

Dick hadn't known what to say, so he had talked. And, man, had he talked. He had talked about anything that would come to his mind. He remembered himself rambling about Alfred's cookies when he eventually stopped. The realization that Damian had let two whole sentences go by without snorting or interrupting had caused him to check on the boy. Damian had been fine, but dead asleep, his body wrapped around his pillow.

Dick knew he should have left, but next thing he knew, he was waking up where he had been hours earlier.

_Well, at least the both of us finally got a good night's rest._ But if Damian woke up while he was still there, the boy would probably flip. To avoid his untimely death, Dick vacated the boy's room as soon as possible.

After a long shower and a mid-day breakfast from Alfred, Dick found himself in front of the cave's computer once again. The search lay complete in front of him. He waited for the results and then thoroughly read through them. They were positive for the new fear toxin. This meant that the woman he had found in the alleyway had somehow been involved in Scarecrow's and Two-Face's plans. It looks like Dick had plans tonight.

He didn't have to look back in the case file to remember the name: Brianna Bice.

Dick looked at the clock, it was getting late. And late was the best time for Batman to do some investigating.

* * *

After memorizing the address from the computer's files, Dick found himself sitting on the roof of a building across from the woman's apartment complex. After a few minutes of waiting, he entered the apartment from a window that opened with the encouragement of a well-placed batarang. _I don't think Bruce intended for these things to be used as levers._

The only light in the room came from a dying street light outside and Batman's flashlight, which he removed from his utility belt. Dick ran his gloved fingers over the dusty furniture. He didn't know too many people who let dust settle on the handle of the refrigerator or doorknob to the bathroom. It was evident the tenant of the apartment hadn't been home in a while. Convinced no one was inside the apartment, Dick flipped a light switch to get a better view.

As he continued to investigate the contents of the kitchen, the sound of a key entering the apartment's main door lock made him hide behind the refrigerator. The half-opened window was in front of him if he needed an escape, but Dick was hoping that was a last resort.

The door opened and an older woman walked in, "Who's there?"

Dick didn't want to frighten the woman, but the Batman voice was necessary, "Someone who is looking for the apartment's resident."

"Show yourself or I'll call the police, this is the landlord speaking," the woman's voice was shaking now.

_The landlord?_ If anyone would know where Brianna would be or at least the last time she had been here, it would be the landlord. With that, Batman came from behind the refrigerator.

"Batman," the woman exclaimed quietly, "Are you here to help her?"

"If by her you mean Brianna then yes; I need to speak with her," Batman replied as he started looking around the apartment again, "Do you know where I can find her?"

"Well," the landlord was clearly hesitant, "I'm not supposed to know anything or say anything."

As Dick turned to respond to the older woman, the sight that greeted him hurt. She was near tears. He approached her and led her to a chair at the dining table; he sat down across from her.

"Batman, she is in a lot of trouble."

"I know. That's why I am here. I promise you, I just want to help her. But I can't do that until I ask her some questions."

The older woman observed him. Her eyes were looking him over, and when they finished their search, she smiled, "You're not as intimidating as I imagined. They said you never spoke to people," she stopped to chuckle, eyes still glistening, "and here we are sitting across a table from each other having a conversation. But I'm getting away from the matter at hand."

She paused as she picked up a napkin from the holder on the table. As she spoke she occasionally dapped at her eyes.

"She came back from the police station a few nights ago all hysterical. She clearly wasn't well, but there wasn't anything the police could do for her. She kept saying something about a mister Crane and Dent. I don't know who Crane was, but I'm guessing Dent is that Two-Face guy. You know, as I imagine you do, the DA who went crazy."

"Do you know where she is now?"

The older woman paused again in hesitation, "Not exactly. She said she was trying to leave Gotham, but Anna doesn't have the money for that yet. I know that for a fact. It's the city's curse. When things get bad, and you want to leave, you don't have enough to do so. The whole things a trap that just keeps sucking you back in."

He wasn't learning much about the whereabouts of Brianna, but he was discovering that the woman across from him could talk. No wonder Damian had fallen asleep on him last night, this was terrible. He had to get her to trust him though. If this woman didn't know where the girl was, he would have to find her the hard way, and there was no telling how long that would take him. However, the landlord wasn't done talking to him yet, so he couldn't lose hope.

"But I may have something that could help you. She gave me a phone number. It's not for her own personal cell, no, she got rid of that. It's for a payphone she said. If I was persistent when I called, she could be found she told me. Anna said only for emergencies, though. I don't know if this counts as an emergence to her, but it does to me."

As the woman wrote the number down on a clean napkin, he began strategizing his next move. The pay phone had to be close to wherever her new place was, how else would the landlord be able to contact her through it? He would run the number through the Bat-mobile's computer and pinpoint its location. Once handed the napkin, Batman stood up, extending his hand to the grey-haired woman in front of him.

As he shook her hand, she placed her other one on top of his, holding it with both hands.

"Please, take care of her. She lived in this apartment for a while, years even. She may not be my own flesh and blood, but I don't know what I would do if she got herself into real trouble. I wish we could help people understand what's best for them, but sometimes they see things differently. And sometimes, that can get them hurt, no matter how hard we try to protect them."

Batman nodded. Dick understood completely about trying to protect those we loved the most from their own fears and mistakes.

The woman added, "Everything happens for a reason. And I'm sure you're here to help me help her."

With that last statement, she began crying again. Dick didn't want to leave her alone, but he knew it would be best. Batman wasn't a personal therapist and his work here was done. The older woman turned around to grab another napkin, and when she looked again, the man in black was gone.

_Everything happens for a reason. _As Dick glided from building to building, making his way back to the car, he thought of his own loved ones. They may not be blood related, but he thought of them all as family. Lately, it seemed some of them were making the opposite decision about what was best for them than what Dick thought.

But everything happens for a reason.

The reason Tim was behaving the way he did nowadays was because he had lost so much recently. After Bruce's death, everyone saw him as a man in complete denial, however, he saw himself as a man on a mission. The reason Tim was on a mission was because he needed to prove to himself recent events weren't true. Losing Bruce was the worst thing that could have happened in his life right now.

Everything happens for a reason.

The reason Damian was acting different was due to his nightmares. The nightmares were caused by Scarecrow's fear toxin, which had triggered his biggest fears. In turn, his biggest fears were created by a complicated childhood, and the loss of a father who he would now never fully get to know.

Then, there was Jason_. Everything happens for a reason_. What were Jason's reasons for doing the things he did? Dick was good with people. He honestly believed he understood them to some extent, but Jason was an expectation.

The whole death by Joker thing was an obvious reason for acting as he did. But he couldn't consider Jason an abnormality, weren't they all? Running around fighting crime in armor and a cape with million dollar gadgets wasn't exactly a normal childhood. Dick didn't know the exact reason Jason felt the need to take him and Damian down, and thinking about it was giving him a severe headache. All he could hope in terms of Jason was that his younger brother stayed out of his way till Scarecrow and Two-Face were taken down.

When Batman was inside the car, he entered the phone number into the car's computer. Within a matter of seconds, a map leading to the location of the pay phone was in front of him. He started the engine and followed the map.

When he neared the pay phone, he parked in an alleyway a few blocks away. From the rooftops he scoured the surrounding area, specifically looking for apartments. However, his job was made easy when he saw Brianna on the street. At first, Dick hadn't recognized her, but then he remembered the curly brown hair. The night he had found her, he had been near exhaustion. Due to this, he hadn't taken to good of a look at the girl. Now, as he followed her with his eyes across the street, he realized she couldn't be any older than nineteen. _Why do they start out so young? _Thankfully, she wasn't leaving; she was heading into a building.

Brianna entered her apartment, tiredly throwing her purse on to the table near the door. She flipped the light switch to the living room, however, when the light came on, there was still a section of black in the room. The sudden sight of the tall black figure in front of her scared her half to death. Her reflexes threw her against the apartment's door with her hands in front of her face.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Batman said as the girl lowered her arms.

"Yeah, well, I don't know that. Not too many people appear randomly in my living room, but usually when it does happens, it's a bad thing," she snorted, glaring at the Bat figure in front of her.

"I need you to answer some questions about the other night."

"Look," she emphasized by pointing a finger at him, "I'm trying to leave this city. As far as the people involved think, I'm dead. And I don't want them to find out I'm not or at least not until I'm long gone. However, if I tell you what I know, you'll probably catch them, which means, they'll know that someone told. And from there, they'll find out I got away. And I know you're some type of detective, so you probably already know what I'm about to say next."

"You're not telling me anything," Batman finished.

She smiled, "That didn't sound like a question, so yeah, don't let the door hit you on the way out." She tried to walk past him toward the bedroom, but Dick stuck out his arm stopping her. Brianna tried to push his hand away, but he was stronger. He honestly hated using intimidation, but she was his only lead.

He pulled her closer to his face, "I don't know if you know this. But there are people who actually care about you, people who sent me here to help you. However, you're making that extremely difficult. On top of that, I have a city in danger with no idea on how to protect it. You," Batman growled as he used his other hand to poke her shoulder with his finger, "Are, unfortunately, the only lead I have."

Her eyes narrowed toward him. She grabbed his wrist and pushed his hand away from her.

"Why should I care about a city that never cared about me?" she asked walking away.

"The city may not care, but like I said, someone inside the city cares about you."

She stopped and turned around to face him, "Who? That old landlady of mine? She doesn't care about me. She's just old. She's probably thinks I'm one of her daughters by mistake."

"If she does have any daughters, it would be a strange coincidence if their names were Brianna or Anna, I believe is what she calls you."

Dick expected yelling. However, the girl just turned her face away from him. He couldn't read the expression on her face, because of the shadows. He didn't have to do, though. Brianna's body language said it all. Her shoulders were more slumped suddenly as the weight of her situation truly hit her.

"She's just old," Brianna whispered, turning back away. It looked like Dick was going to need to be more personal.

"Regardless. If Scarecrow and Dent get away with their plan, she'll just be another victim. However, that is something you can prevent."

The girl bent over, leaning forward with both hands on the dining table to hold herself up.

"I just worked for Dent. One of his bottom feeder workers that he uses to get information from the streets," she paused, but Dick waited a few moments in silence, not wanting to cause the girl to stop, "One night, we heard about the deal he was doing with Scarecrow, you know, a whole week after it was originally planned. We never find out anything on time, and usually by the time our information gets to the big guy in charge, it's irrelevant. Well, Scarecrow must have found out we knew, because he didn't want us to."

When she didn't continue, Batman asked, "Why would he not want you to know?"

Before replying, she pushed herself back up to her full height, "Because if we found out he double-crossed the boss, we would have come after him. He didn't want that to happen."

Dick processed the information as she turned back toward him. _Was Scarecrow actually two-timing Two-Face? Of all people. Ironic. _

"By the time Two-Face figures out what even happened to us on the street level, it'll be too late. The deal will be complete and Scarecrow will be far away with both the ruby and his fear toxin. It's Crane's hope that with Two-Face's "street army" crippled, no one will be coming after him when he does run."

Dick didn't want to, but he had to ask, "So, why not tell the boss?"

She started laughing, "Really? It's not that simple. I can't just walk in and be like, hey boys, let me see the big guy. I have some news he literally won't believe." She continued to laugh, but not a normal, hearty laugh, but one from sleep deprivation and stress. The girl was losing her mind from the paranoia. It probably didn't help that the toxin was still running through her system. "Also, if Scarecrow found out I told, he would come find me in a heartbeat. As far as he knows, I don't exist anymore, and never will."

"Do you know when and where the deal is happening?" Batman continued, trying to get more information.

"I know the when, but the where will be your problem," she answered. _It was better than nothing_. "It'll happen tomorrow night. I know it's somewhere in the warehouse district by the docks though. That's where Two-Face does all his trade business, so he can easily get away by boat if need be. However, as you probably know, the warehouse district is huge, and Two-Face never picks the same place twice."

Batman nodded, "Thank you, Brianna."

"Yeah, whatever. Just get out of here before you get me killed."

Dick ignored the last statement, "Stay out of trouble."

"Again, whatever."

Dick sighed as he turned to leave. He wished he could help the troubled youth, but he knew there was no getting through to her. He had already used his only available card, the landlord, to persuade Brianna to do one thing, which was talk to him. It wouldn't work twice in persuading her to change her whole life. For some reason, people didn't take life advice from a man in a bat suit very well.

* * *

When Dick returned to the cave, he found Damian sitting in the chair by the computer.

"Drake came by while you were gone," Damian stated as he neared the boy.

"Is it too hard for you to call him Tim? And what did he want?"

"He said he was leaving Gotham again. Sad really," Damian said snorting.

Dick took off the cowl and looked at Damian, "Yeah, I can tell you're truly heartbroken." Dick groaned. The last thing he wanted was Tim leaving town before he had the chance to speak with him. Tim's constant traveling was starting to worry Dick. In addition, it had recently been brought to his attention that Tim may be in a partnership with Ra's Al Ghul. That was a major concern, too. Dick ran his hand through his hair.

Looks like he would talking to another troubled youth tonight, but this time it was personal on his end. It was family.

* * *

Tim knew Dick would be able to find him. But he also knew that Dick wouldn't come and find him unless he had a reason. Tim had gone by to speak to Dick, but as he had predicted, his older brother had been out on patrol. As Tim sat in his temporary Gotham headquarters, the sound of someone approaching reached his well-trained ears.

"I surely thought you would get here sooner," Tim said spinning around to face Dick.

"The cape slows me down," Dick joked, taking off his cowl, "Can I sit here?"

Tim looked at his brother, "Aren't you the boss?"

"One, we're equals. And two, this is your place."

Tim smiled. Dick always tried to make him feel important, and for the most part, he did. Without waiting for a response Dick sat on the box he had pointed to.

"Look, Tim. I didn't come here for witty banter. I came here to talk about what's going on with you. Damian said you're leaving again," Dick said, suddenly becoming serious.

"Dick, I only told Damian that, because I knew you would come out to talk to me. I'm not leaving. Well, I'm not leaving yet. I will be soon. And we do need to talk, but not about me. We need to talk about Jason."

Dick's face fell, "Did he find you, too?"

"Yeah, he followed me while I was out on patrol last night. When he did talk to me, he only asked me one thing, when I was leaving Gotham."

Dick moved his eyes to the ground, pondering over the words.

Tim continued, "I think he just wants to know if I'll be in his way."

"Yeah," Dick started, still staring at the ground, "he came by the cave last night to give me a warning."

Tim was now confused, "A warning?"

"He wants to take Damian and me down to prove something along the lines of him having the better dynamic duo for Gotham."

The last statement made Tim laugh, "Better dynamic duo? Does he not remember how bad his portrayal of Batman was?" Abruptly, Tim's face was the one to fall this time. Jason would have never been able to do his portrayal of the Dark Knight if he hadn't helped his older brother out of prison.

"He's the least of my worries right now, Tim," Dick word's brought Tim back from his thoughts. Tim stared at his oldest brother. _When did Dick began looking so much older?_

"Least of your worries? He should be your biggest worry," Tim exclaimed, realizing Dick had yet to look up from the floor.

"No, I just got a lead tonight on the Scarecrow and Two-Face case. Their deal is going down tomorrow," Dick paused, finally picking up his head, "which is another reason I came here tonight. I was hoping you'd stay in town to help me tomorrow."

"Why not just bring my replacement?" Tim said, realizing as he said it that the statement sounded meaner than he had hoped.

"Tim…"

"No, Dick. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Why was he constantly making stupid mistakes? He knew Dick hated asking for help. Even in his toughest moments, Dick rarely asked for help, but when he did, he truly needed it.

Dick went back to answering Tim's earlier question, "It's just, the toxin affected Damian pretty bad, and since we'll be facing off against Scarecrow again, I think it'll be best, you know."

"I understand." Dick was a good leader. While his decisions seemed harsh at first, they came with good intentions. He was always trying to protect the ones he loved first.

"Thanks, Tim."

"No, prob. But I still think you should be more worried about Jason, he's coming back is the only reason I'm still here. Since I warned you, I can leave town guilt free now. However, I'll help you tomorrow. After that, though, I'm gone."

Dick started as if to argue, "Tim…"

Tim stopped him, "No arguing. Besides, I'm the real least of your worries, not Jason as you said earlier. I'm not the younger brother who is out to kill you."

"At this rate, you're my only younger brother not out to kill me. Eventually Damian is going to snap from being confined in the manor for so long."

"Well, that would be counterproductive on his part. Because I would have to take over the mantle of Batman next, and I know how much he would love that."

Dick laughed. It was good to see Dick genuinely smile again.

"Have you been getting any sleep lately?" Tim asked finally noticing the black circles under Dick's unmasked eyes.

Dick hesitated, "I'm fine. But, I'll admit Scarecrow's newest toxin is a lot more potent than his older forms."

That meant Dick was probably having nightmares, which meant Damian had to be as well. He didn't even want to imagine the thoughts that could keep an ex-assassin awake at night. The mere thought of it sent a small shiver down his spine that he hoped Dick hadn't noticed.

* * *

**A/N Part 2**: Like I said at the beginning, not my favorite chapter to write, not much action. Thanks for reading! And remember to follow or review, it's greatly appreciated!


	5. Falling

**Disclaimer:**I do not own these characters and will not be making a profit from this story.

**A/N**: I hadn't planned on uploading the last two chapters at the same time, but I had a difficult time getting the last one to the standard I wanted. So, I began writing this one, and by the time I had the last one edited, this one was complete. This will probably be the shortest chapter of the story. So here it is!

**Chapter 5: Falling**

Damian stood in a dark room with a spotlight on him. He squinted his eyes to try and see into the darkness, but it was in vain. He thought maybe he could venture into the blackness, but the sounds coming from it made him think twice. Screaming and crying reached his ears from an unknown source. The sounds all blurred together creating one mass of horrible noise.

Suddenly he was very cold and shivered. Through the darkness a figure was walking toward him.

He squinted again, but this time, he knew what he was staring at.

"Father?" Damian asked in a soft voice.

"Yes, son?"

"What are you doing here?"

Damian ran toward Bruce giving him a hug, tears streaming down his face. It was so real. Damian knew he must having another lucid dream that the toxin was causing, but it didn't stop him from wanting to believe it was real.

"Son, it's alright. I'm right here."

Damian didn't respond, but continued holding on to the figure in front of him.

Bruce continued, "I came here to tell you how much I lov…"

Damian was startled when the figure stopped speaking, and when he looked up he realized why. The Bruce in front of him was disintegrating in his arms. Damian stepped back in horror as the flesh of his father fell off in front of him. A gust of wind whipped Damian's hair and took the falling flesh away into the darkness. In front of him now stood the skeleton Superman had brought to them.

"Father?" Damian whimpered, barely audible. The skeleton didn't respond, but it fell to the ground, unmoving. His world began to shift and the skeleton was sucked back into the darkness it had originally come out of. Damian opened his eyes after the world became still again, tears still falling. This is usually where he woke up. Why wasn't he waking up?

He twitched as the screams in the distance became louder.

"Damian?"

_No, no. Please, let me wake up. _ Damian closed his eyes begging himself to wake up, but the toxin kept him under its spell. The figure touched his shoulder and spun him around to face it. _No, no._ Damian didn't open his eyes, but the figure continued to speak to him.

"Damian? Are you going to look at me?"

The tears continued falling and he begin coughing as he choked on them. _Damian Wayne does not cry. Stop. It is just a dream. _

The figure's hand reached under his chin to pick up his head.

"Damian, it's okay. I'm right here."

Damian couldn't handle it anymore.

"That's the same thing Father said!" He yelled, opening his eyes.

In front of him, Dick stared at him with a hurt expression.

"I know it's hard, Damian," Dick stopped to wipe a tear away from Damian's cheek, but he pushed the hand away. Once again, Dick's face became one of hurt.

"Go away," Damian murmured. When Dick didn't leave, he yelled louder, "I said go away!"

Dick stood up and backed away from him, "I just came here to tell you how prou.."

"No!" Damian yelled as the wind around him picked up. He could feel it on his skin. _Why did it all feel so real? It was just a dream._ He continued yelling, ignoring the figure's words in front of him. Damian fell to his knees, covering his ears.

When he felt the wind stop he collapsed onto his hands and knees. _Don't look up. _ He lay trembling. The tears fell onto the ground in front of his blurred vision. _Don't look up. Wake up, Damian. Wake up._

It didn't happen though. He sat trembling on his hands and knees for what felt like eternity. Finally, he accepted it. He wouldn't wake up until he looked up. It was inevitable.

Damian lifted his head. In front of him, the skeleton of Dick Grayson stood. As he made eye contact with its face, the skeleton fell over. Damian thought he might throw up, but he was just dreaming. He couldn't throw up in a dream, could he?

Once again, the world began to shift around him, except this time when it ended he was back in his room.

The room was freezing, but that wasn't why he was shaking.

It was all inevitable. _No, it was just a dream. _

Either way, Damian wasn't going back to sleep. It would be another restless night.

* * *

When Dick had gotten back from talking with Tim, it was nearly dawn. He crawled into bed with the sun's rays peeking through his bedroom curtains. He thought about the other night when he had fallen asleep in Damian's room. What he would give for another peaceful full night's rest. As he slowly floating in and out of consciousness, he wondered if he should go talk to Damian. There was something wrong with the boy, but he wouldn't talk to Dick about it. Eventually the kid would come around; he just had to make sure the kid trusted him first. Next thing Dick knew, he was dreaming.

He groaned when he recognized the place his subconscious had brought him to. It was the only city he had ever lived in that had worse crime than Gotham, Bludhaven. Dick couldn't remember the last time he had been to the city. Ever since its destruction by Chemo, the city had been a place of constant pain. He stared out over the smog covered city and waited. He remembered this rooftop; there was no way he would ever be able to forget it.

In the distance he heard what he had been waiting for: the sound of a gunshot. Any minute now, a blood covered Nightwing would come through the rooftop exit door bewildered and lost.

Like clockwork, the door slammed opened, and he watched the younger Dick stumble out with Tarantula not far behind.

"Everything's all right baby, it's all okay."

Dick listened as the conversation from years ago ran through his brain. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't keep the words from reaching his ears, because it was all inside his head.

No one knew what had fully happened that night. Of course, he had talked about the shooting, but what had happened on the rooftop, had stayed there. _No one knew._

Now they did. When Dick turned around to the scene behind him, everyone was there. Anyone he had ever loved was standing on that rooftop with him; Bruce, Tim, Alfred, Barbara, his parents, Kory, Wally, Roy, and even Jason who laughed in the corner.

"I always knew you had it in you Dickie-Bird," he smiled.

But Dick didn't answer. The shame of them finding out about that night made him angry. Angry at the world, but mostly angry at himself for ever letting it happen. He gripped the edge of the rooftop with his hands. As he looked down over the edge, he saw nothing. And he wondered. Dick stepped onto the edge and did the only thing he could do. He jumped.

It was his dream; he could run away if he wanted to. As he fell through the darkness, the world around him began shifting. He landed smoothly on the ground. He stood up to observe his new location. He was in the cave.

Bruce, Tim, Damian, Jason, and Alfred stood in a circle surrounding something. They were all yelling, about what, he couldn't make out.

As he walked closer, he recognized the figure sitting in the middle of the circle with his head down. It was him.

"You're the worst Batman ever."

"You're a huge disappointment."

"You let everyone down. You let Gotham down. You let yourself down."

The dream Dick and he made eye contact. What was he afraid of? _Being weak? Disappointing everyone he loved? Everyone has these same fears. The toxin must be becoming weaker if this is all it's getting out of me now._ The dreams and hallucinations had been much worse in the beginning. He thought back to the sensation of falling he had experienced when the toxin had first hit him. When he had landed next to the bodies of his parents, he knew it was different from the other strains of the toxin he had encountered. It had felt so real. He could smell the popcorn in the big top; he could hear the buzz of the lights and the sounds of everyone screaming.

He looked away from the Dick in front of him as the image disappeared, replaced by the image of his two parents.

"You let us fall, Dick," John Grayson told him, "You will, too. But you're doomed to fall alone."

The image disappeared as he woke up. He sat up in his bed and stared around his room. _I'm not alone. I have Tim, Damian, Alfred, and Barbara if I need her. You're not alone, Grayson._

He had already lost Bruce. The thought of losing anyone else scared him. Eventually he feared he would be alone, but not by choice.

* * *

Despite his nightmares, Dick had slept through most of the day. When he finally decided to get out of bed, he headed to the cave. Within an hour or two, Tim would be showing up to head out to the warehouse district. He had every camera he could hack into on, looking for any sign of Two-Face or his gang, but so far, nothing.

When Tim did get to the cave they went over their plan.

"I got Scarecrow," Tim said.

"All right. I'll take out Two-Face and help you when I'm done. Without Catwoman there to distract me, I can handle him quicker."

Tim stopped with a worried face, "You think she'll show up?"

"No, how would she find out about it?"

"How does she find out about anything?"

Dick laughed, "Good point."

They continued looking over the blueprints that most of the warehouse buildings followed. They continually checked the cameras as well, but still nothing.

"I guess we'll just have to head out and wait."

"Looks like it," Dick replied somewhat sadly.

"You think Jason will come out tonight," Tim asked.

Dick stopped to think about his younger brother. If he knew Jason, he would be out there tonight if he knew about it, "I wouldn't bet against it."

"Well, then, this should be a fun night. Ready?"

Alfred came down the stairs holding a tray of food, "Before you two leave, I suggest you have something to eat."

Tim smiled as he grabbed a few sandwiches off the tray, scarfing them down, "Thanks, Alfred," he said between mouth fulls.

"And you Master Dick?" Alfred asked, holding the tray out for Dick.

"No thanks, Alfred. I ate already," Dick replied with a small smile. As Tim put his cowl on and walked to his motorcycle, Alfred stared at Dick.

"I know very well, you haven't eaten already."

Dick laughed. How had he forgotten that Alfred knew everything? He rolled his eyes and took a sandwich off the tray, "All right. All right."

Alfred smiled, placing the tray down and taking out his duster.

"Well, be back later, Alfred. I would say don't wait up, but I have no idea how bad it's going to be."

"I'll have the medical bay ready."

_You're not alone, Grayson,_ Dick reminded himself as he stared at the smiling face of Alfred. He got into the Batmobile and followed Red Robin out of the cave.

* * *

As Damian listened to Dick and Tim's conversation from the shadows of the cave, he remembered his dream from last night. He was going out to help, whether Dick wanted him to or not. Scarecrow and Two-Face together would pose a threat for the pair on a normal day, but with the possibility of Todd showing up, he knew he had to be there.

He watched as Red Robin revved his motorcycle and left the cave. Close behind, the Bat-mobile followed. Damian walked out into the open and came up with a plan.

"I'll be in my room, Pennyworth," he told Alfred as he passed the older man dusting the uniform cases.

"As I'm sure you will be for the entirety of the night," Alfred sarcastically stated back.

"T-t."

Alfred watched the youngest disappear through the cave door, and sighed. He approached the computer and pressed a button.

"Master Dick, I'm afraid you may have some more company tonight."

"Damian?"

"Yes, sir."

"I would expect nothing less from the boy. I saw him in the cave before we left. Thanks, Alfred."

"I wish I could say my pleasure, but I cannot."

On the other end Dick hesitated, "I understand, Alfred. I don't want him out here either."

Alfred closed the connection and leaned against the computer. He looked back toward the uniform cases he had just been dusting. The cases didn't need dusting, but it gave him an excuse to stand in front of them. He found himself staring at Bruce's former suit more and more nowadays.

"Please, take care of him. He's all we have left of you," Alfred spoke into the air.

* * *

**A/N Part 2:** I have the next chapter outlined and I hope to have it written real soon. I'm extremely busy, but the few reviews I have and the follows keep me going! Thanks for reading!


	6. Impact

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters and will not be making a profit off them. I can only wish that day will come.

**A/N: **Dun, dun, dun. I'm writing this Author Note at 2 am, so excuse any odd behavior. Last time, I updated with two chapters, but alas, this time it is only one. But it is a long one, so at least there is that! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because stuff is about to go down. Thanks for reading! And thanks for the reviews, I greatly appreciate them!

**Chapter 6: Impact**

Jason took off his red helmet as he entered his Gotham hideout.

"I discovered some interesting news off the streets tonight, Sasha."

Jason placed the helmet quietly on a table and stared at the girl sitting in front of him. Her real name was Sasha, but on the streets, she was known as Scarlet, sidekick to the Red Hood. The girl originally came to Gotham city with her father, but after a terrible chain of events, her life had changed forever. A run in with Professor Pyg had left Sasha's face permanently disfigured. Well, Jason didn't know if it was actually disfigured. Pyg had fused a mask to the poor girl's face that had never been removed. Somewhere under the horror, genderless, emotionless mask laid the face of a girl with a messed up past.

The incident had occurred due to her father's involvement in the criminal underworld. Because of this she had taken her rage out on him by smothering the man to death with a pillow. When Jason first saw this rage, he knew he could help her. One thing Jason was full of was rage. On top of that, he completely understood what it was like to have rage toward a father figure who one had once idolized.

Jason thought of his old mentor. All those years ago, Bruce had found him on the streets; just another Gotham hoodlum. Bruce had taken him in thinking Jason could be fixed. However, Bruce's way of fixing him was trying to turn him into a direct copy of Grayson. That was one of the few reasons Jason had been taken in at all. The Golden Boy had fled from the nest and Bruce needed a soldier. Not a son, that spot was already taken, but a soldier; Robin had left. So, Bruce had taken Jason in. Not only would Batman have a Robin again, but Bruce Wayne would feel good about himself after taking in a charity case.

Jason Todd had never been a son, always a soldier.

He remembered the message Bruce had left him after his death all too clearly.

"_Of all my failures, you have been my biggest."_

He was not a failure. Why would a man who is supposed to be a father call you one of his failures?

And then the man had the nerve to try to send him to a doctor like there was something wrong with him. Sure, Jason had rage inside of him, but he didn't have psychological issues.

The thought of it made Jason mad. All he had done was what his mentor had asked of him. But when the Joker killed him, Bruce didn't avenge his death. Seeing the laughing clown still running around when he came back to Gotham was the last straw. That was the moment he knew that Bruce's moral standards were not the same as his own. And despite Bruce's absence, he was still going to make it known that his former father figure was wrong. The only thing standing in his way was the new dynamic duo. Now, he had his own Robin; his own dynamic duo, but a better one. To him, Sasha was a person, someone whose well-being he cared for. And that was the difference between Bruce and him. He cared about his partner. If someone hurt her, he would avenge Sasha. He would let the punishment fit the crime. And hurting a partner was a huge crime.

"What did you find out, Hood?" Sasha asked again, but the first time Jason had been too deep in thought to hear her.

Jason looked toward her, "Scarecrow and Two-Face are doing their deal tonight. And I bet our little Bat-Family knows this already, which means we need to make an appearance as well."

Sasha smiled.

She loved this lifestyle just like Jason did. This world had been cruel to her, and, like Jason, she had no reason to be nice to it.

"Sounds like a lovely night ahead of us."

"Indeed," Jason replied grabbing his helmet once more. He held it in his hands and stared at his own reflection. The white streak in his naturally red hair still surprised him. It was just a reminder of what had happened. It was a constant reminder of why Batman's methods were wrong. If the Joker had been killed, Jason wouldn't have and that white streak wouldn't exist. He took a deep breath, covering the white streak with his thumb. When Jason removed the thumb he looked away from the reflection. Crime deserved to be punished. Tonight, it would be.

* * *

Dick could feel the pressure in his head increasing, marking the beginning of a bad headache. Thankfully, the Bat-mobile was made for stealth and silence. What wasn't helping his headache was the future encounter that would occur tonight, and the boy trailing behind him who would show up in the middle of said encounter.

With one hand gripping the steering wheel, Dick turned on the tracker in Damian's utility belt. A map appeared on the screen in the car's dashboard. Toward the top was his location, and a few blocks south of him was Damian. The boy wasn't far behind, but he was definitely keeping his distance.

"Red Robin, we have company, so be out on the watch for Robin," Dick spoke into his communicator.

"You saw him in the cave, too?"

"We were trained by the same guy, right? Of course, I saw him in the cave," Dick joked back.

Dick closed the connection. He was trying to be his typical light-hearted self, but he sure didn't feel like it. Not only did his head hurt, but he literally felt like his bones were aching. On top of that, the knife wound in his shoulder was burning. He wished he knew why. Dick had made sure it wasn't infected, which it wasn't, but it still burned.

Dick pondered the possibilities for his illness until he parked the car next to Red Robin's motorcycle in an alley. Within a few minutes, Batman and Red Robin were standing next to each other on a rooftop with the warehouse district laid out in front of them. Dick had tried to narrow down the possible buildings where the deal could occur. He had gone through old case files looking at older locations Dent had used. In addition, he took out certain buildings simply based on their layout. If Dent wanted to trade an expensive ruby for a case of toxin, Dick knew he would want as many people to back him up as possible. That meant, a wide open building with plenty of places to stick men was the best. Those that didn't fit the description, Dick had cut out of the possibilities list. It could be risky, but it reduced the list by half.

Besides that, Dick had every camera in the general vicinity running its footage through the cave's mainframe computer. If the facial recognition program recognized Crane, Dent, or any known thug of the two, Alfred would tell him immediately.

"Don't you just hate stakeouts?" Red Robin asked, staring over the side of the roof.

Batman watched the younger man, "You have no idea." Hate was a strong word, but Dick could not emphasize how much he hated stakeouts sometimes. Movement was his way of life, and stakeouts completely went against that.

However, tonight, unlike when the mission had begun all those nights ago across from the penthouse suite, Dick would not be sitting for hours.

"Master Dick," Alfred voice came from the speaker in his cowl, "There is a match for a well-known alley of Two-Face nearby to your location."

"Is he heading to any building in particular?"

"Pier five, building three it looks like."

"Thank you."

The cameras had worked. Dick hoped it wouldn't be the only thing that went right that night.

Batman and Red Robin quietly made their way across the rooftops until they had building three in their sights.

"Still following the plan?" Red Robin asked.

"If you mean kicking some butt and taking care of business, then of course," Batman replied with an unnatural lopsided grin. Bruce had seemed to rarely ever smile and he even more rarely smiled while masked. Ever since Dick had taken up the mantle, Batman smiled a lot nowadays. It tended to freak out his enemies more than usual at first. They thought that Batman had finally snapped, but in reality, it was just jolly ole Dick Grayson under the cowl now. Then Dick thought of something else, "Hey, you mind if I take care of Scarecrow instead of you?"

"Sure, but can I ask why?" Red Robin's face became one of concern.

"I've already been hit with the toxin. If he hits me again, it won't really matter at this point. But if you get hit with it, you'll be where I was a week ago, which wasn't very fun," Dick tried to reassure his brother. Red Robin nodded in understanding. In all honestly, Dick didn't want Tim going up against Crane. After they had planned out everything before leaving, he thought about the possibility of Tim being hit with the toxin. With everything that had happened to the boy recently, Dick couldn't imagine the things it would do to him. Therefore, Dick decided it was best if Tim just handled Two-Face.

They entered building three from a roof top entrance. As the pair crept through the dark hallways, they kept a watch out for anyone on guard. Batman didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that they only ran into two guards on their way to the main room. It could mean Scarecrow and Two-Face had brought less back-up then predicted, or they were all a floor or two below them. Dick didn't like the latter, but past experience told him it was probably the case.

The pair finally reached the main room, standing on a walkway overlooking the entire space. In every corner, two of Two-Face's men stood. Between every corner against the walls, two of Scarecrow's men stood. In the middle of the room, the two power houses stood together. Two-Face held the same bag from the night of the museum's break in, which must contain the ruby. Next to Scarecrow's feet sat a briefcase, which must be the toxin. It was clear the two villains had yet to exchange goods.

Batman turned to Red Robin who acknowledged the older. Without words, they nodded at one another. Batman took out smoke pellets with one hand and a batarang with his other. As he jumped over the railing, he through the smoke pellets down, while aiming the batarang at Two-Face's hand holding the bag.

In the smoky chaos, the vigilantes took out several of the men standing around the perimeter of the room. When the air cleared, Batman stood over an unconscious thug who had approached him with a bat, which he now held. _Why were known of these men armed with guns? _ For such an important deal, neither criminal had brought much fire power. _Maybe it was in their terms of agreements. I didn't know anyone actually read those. _

Dick looked around. No one else was advancing toward him and Red Robin who stood back to back with him. In the center, Crane and Dent faced the intruders. _What was going on?_

"The deal is off," Batman growled, throwing the bat forcefully to the ground. Dent watched the bat roll away and waited till the echoes of its impact left the warehouse.

"It makes me quite angry when you get involved in my business, Batman," Two-Face said in a calm voice. The bag had been knocked out of his hand and lay on the ground several feet away. The villain, however, made no effort to retrieve it. Instead, he replaced the missing bag with his infamous coin which he flipped lazily.

"I don't think you should be angry with us, Dent. We're not the ones pulling a fast one on you," Batman pointed out. Dick was hoping he could make Two-Face realize Scarecrow's true intentions for tonight's deal. Brianna had informed him the masked fear master was going to attempt to make off with both goods. And from the past, Dick knew Two-Face did not take kindly to being made into a fool. The best case scenario for him was the two villains fighting among themselves. But Dick got a response he wasn't expecting. Two-Face started laughing.

"And to think you're supposed to be a detective. Batman, Scarecrow isn't two-timing me. That would be too cliché."

Dick found these words startling. _Was there something else going on here or did Two-Face just not believe him? _Before he could ask more questions though, Red Robin spoke.

"Actually, he is," Red Robin stated, "But let's stop the chit-chat and end this now." Red Robin ran toward Two-Face ready for combat. Dick remembered their revised plan, and watched as the pair collided in a scuffle of hits and blocks. Tim knew the man was no match for his training, and so did Two-Face. To avoid his eventual defeat, Two-Face called over his henchmen and Red Robin found himself surrounded. Through the mass of people, Two-Face ran out, heading for the exit. Red Robin wouldn't allow for the criminal's escape though.

Batman side glanced as Two-Face, followed by Red Robin and several henchmen headed out the building's side exit.

Two-Face was not on Dick's mind, though; Batman had his eyes set on Scarecrow, "He's right. This ends now, Crane."

Scarecrow gave a hearty laugh, bringing his hand to his chest, "This is actually only the beginning, Batman." With that, several of Scarecrow's thugs surrounded Batman.

Batman got into a fighting stance. The first thug wasn't very smart. He ran toward Dick with a crowbar held high over his head. When the man got close enough, Batman moved a little to the side, causing the man's momentum to carry him forward where Batman should have been. As the man passed, Batman grabbed the crowbar and kicked the man in the back, sending him to the ground. Batman immediately threw the crowbar sideways at another thug coming behind him.

As he continued to handle the thugs, Scarecrow's voice rose above the sounds of fighting, "This is all just part of the plan."

"What plan, Crane?" Batman asked in a low growl. He was not in the mood to find out there was more than a simple trade-off happening tonight. _Had he missed something? _A sharp jab to his rib brought Dick back to reality. He used his elbow to knock the thug in the head, knocking him unconscious.

"The plan to finally get rid of you once and for all. I don't know if you remember our first encounter very well, but I did hit you with a second dosage of my toxin."

Dick didn't like where this was going.

"It was a special dosage," Scarecrow continued, "The only bad part about it is that it takes a while to get into the system. We tried everything to speed it up, but it did nothing for our few research participants."

_What was Scarecrow talking about?_

"According to our research, the toxin should be starting to take full effect. It would have definitely already started to fully affect an average person, but we know you're a little above average, Batman."

Dick tried to think about Scarecrow's words and fight, but the concentration was fueling his growing headache. _How could this whole thing have been planned? That would mean…that would mean Brianna had been a part of it, too._

As if to read his thoughts, Scarecrow added, "This whole little deal today was arranged. I believe you met our little associate, Brianna. Apparently, if you threaten the lives of those people care about, you can get them to do anything."

Scarecrow stopped his story to laugh and watch Batman as his fighting became more sluggish.

"You're slower than normal," the masked villain said as Batman took a kick to the back, sending him to his knees, "That's normal."

_What had Scarecrow put inside of him?_ He had thought his slow reaction time had been a side effect of sleep loss. Dick thought back to his visit with Brianna. _Had she been reluctant to tell him anything, because she knew what was going to happen to him? _Then, Dick thought of the burning sensation in his shoulder. That thug in the alley had managed to hit him. On a normal day, even under sleep loss, Dick would have easily avoided the blow. _Why had he not noticed it before? Why hadn't he researched the new toxin from his and Damian's blood and not just Brianna's? _Bruce would have never let those details past him.

"By this time next week, you'll be the least of our problems, and we can finally take our city back."

"I wont let that happen," Batman grunted, as he took out the last thug with a swift punch to the head.

Scarecrow hesitated a little as Batman approached him, but again he started laughing, "Usually, I would run here, but I'm not worried about you."

Dick didn't understand. He felt, for the most part, fine. The aching bones were just soreness. The headache was just a headache. It didn't matter right now. _Focus, Grayson_. He was going to take Scarecrow down first and then get answers.

Batman was only a few steps away from the man of fear, when a window broke in the building. Dick groaned as a familiar figure landed across the warehouse from him. Dick acknowledged a woman in a purple leotard and red cape behind the Red Hood. _This must be his lovely new sidekick. _

Dick couldn't see Jason's face under the Red Hood's helmet, but he knew his younger brother was smiling as he strolled towards him.

"I didn't think you would start without me. Isn't that a little rude?"

Batman growled, "This is sort of a bad time."

"There is never a bad time for justice," Red Hood said to Batman while staring at Scarecrow.

"If that's the case, then yours will come after his."

As the two brothers talked, Scarecrow was slowly backing up. The arrival of the Red Hood and his sidekick had obviously not been a part of whatever plan he had mentioned earlier. Batman approached Scarecrow, taking out a batarang. It would probably be best if he didn't get close to the fear master. The man always had a rogue dart full of toxin up his sleeve. Getting close enough for the villain to touch you was usually a mission failure.

However, Jason had his own idea of how things should be handled. The Red Hood took out a gun and pointed it toward Scarecrow.

"No," Batman growled, holding up his hand.

"No for you. But not a no for me. Get out of my way. This man will just continue to hurt people. There is no reason to let him live."

"We don't kill."

Jason laughed under the helmet, "We?"

"Don't do this," Batman pleaded while retaining his gruff Batman voice. As he argued with his brother, Scarecrow was backing up further and further away. Jason cocked the gun. Dick didn't have a choice. He would have to take out his brother before handling Scarecrow. In hopes the villain would stay where he was, Dick tossed a metal pellet toward the man's feet. As it made impact with the ground, expanding and hardening foam surrounded Scarecrow's feet, trapping him inside it.

"No!" Scarecrow cried as he clawed at the rock solid material.

After throwing the pellet, Dick had side tackled Jason as he pulled the gun out of his brother's hand. The two landed on the ground with Batman on top, holding the Red Hood down with one hand.

"I said, we don't kill," Batman yelled, punching at the Red Hood's helmet with his free hand, but missing as Jason rolled from underneath him, escaping from his hold.

Batman stood to his full height, preparing to fight.

"I warned you that I would take you down. And I see you didn't heed my warning since your sidekick isn't here."

"Actually, he is," Robin said landed next to Batman from the ceiling, "And with perfect timing."

"I told you to stay home," Batman stated, not taking his attention away from the duo in front of him.

The Red Hood looked from Batman and Robin, and then back again, "Well, Scarlet, looks like you have something to do tonight after all. Oh, look at me, being the rude one now, in case you don't know," Jason said using both hands to direct towards the girl besides him, "this is Scarlet. She's my Robin, but much better than the real Robin."

Behind him, the girl smiled as she stared at a mean-faced Damian.

"We'll talk about this later," Dick said in a harsh tone, ignoring the girl's introduction. He followed up by turning his head toward his young partner and whispering in a quiet voice, "But till then, thank you."

Damian didn't respond, but simply nodded back.

No words were spoken between the pair from then on out. The Red Hood ran towards Batman trying to land a punch in the chest. However, Dick was easily prepared, grabbing Jason's hand in his own. The Red Hood quickly changed tactics, swiping a leg under Batman's, throwing the man off balanced. Before hitting the ground, Batman caught himself, twisting his legs which were still intertwined with the Red Hood's. This caused Jason to lose his own balance. Dick pushed off into a back walkover after removing his legs from his brother's.

"Typical acrobatic show off," the Red Hood spat, standing back up.

"Jealousy is an ugly trait."

A few feet away, Robin and Scarlet were sparring. Scarlet kept smiling at Damian which was driving the boy nuts. However, Dick didn't have time to make sure his partner was okay. The last thing he saw was Robin flipping onto a pile of crates, running after the purple clad girl.

In front of Dick, Jason was coming at him with full force. It was then he noticed the slowness in his movements. As he blocked hit after hit from Jason, Dick felt the pressure from his headache against his skull with every movement.

Dick gritted his teeth as he jabbed Jason right under his ribs with a tight fist. His brother crumpled forward, resting his weight on Dick's outstretched fist.

Dick took the opportunity to slam his knee into the shiny red helmet. It didn't break it, but Batman noticed a nice sized dent in the material as the Red Hood fell to the warehouse floor. Dick found himself light-headed after the sudden burst of energy used for the kick.

He simply shook his head to try to rid himself of the grogginess. Batman looked over to where he had left Scarecrow. _Gone. Of course._ He thought about going after the villain, but thought again as Jason slowly crawled back to his feet.

"You're going to regret that."

"You're going to regret coming here tonight, because of you, Scarecrow got away."

Jason stood up to his full height again, "You should have just let me take care of him. Then, we wouldn't be in this mess, Dickie-Bird."

Dick growled at the nickname, especially since they were costumed.

"I'm surprised you know how to fight without your guns."

"I don't need them to take care of you," the Red Hood hissed.

Dick lunged at Jason, grabbing the other man's wrist. He used it to twist the Red Hood's arm behind him. The Red Hood grunted as he pushed off his feet to back-flip over Batman, who didn't let go of the wrist. As Jason flipped over his brother, he twisted his body causing Dick to spin with the new movement of his arm. Now, Jason was standing, facing his older brother whose hand was still wrapped around his wrist.

"Why are you doing this?" Dick asked as he stared at his own disfigured reflection in the dent of the helmet.

"You have to let the punishment fit the crime. I came here to punish Scarecrow."

With that, the Red Hood head butted Batman, who let go of the wrist in surprise. _That won't help my headache._

"However, you ruined that little plan. And I didn't come here to take you down tonight. I can't take you down until I completely ruin the reputation of Batman and Robin."

"You're not leaving here, Jason."

"Really? And who is going to stop me? You're too busy trying to save your sidekick."

Dick froze. _What?_ He looked over to Robin. He was fine_._ However, Dick watched as Jason bent over and picked up the gun he had thrown to the side earlier. _How had he not noticed it? How could he let Jason get close to it again?_ Jason placed a bullet in the chamber and the sound of the gun cocking made Dick react.

"No! Jason!" he yelled at his younger brother, but it was too late.

Dick watched as the bullet made impact and caused Damian to fall off the mountain of crates he and Scarlet had been on top of.

"Robin!"

Batman didn't even hesitate before running towards his fallen partner.

Behind him Jason continued talking, "See, I am the best Batman. I'm the only one who hasn't let a sidekick get hurt."

Dick ignored him, running behind the crates. On the ground Robin lay sprawled out. Dick ran to him looking for a wound, but there was none. Dick looked around and found the item that had made impact. A rubber bullet. Jason hadn't killed Damian.

Dick let his shoulders fall as the fear and anxiety fell away. He crumpled over letting his forehead rest on Damian's rising and falling chest. He had almost lost him. That could have been it. One shot and done. How had Bruce gone through this more than once? First when the Joker had shot him and then what he had done to Jason. Suddenly, the feeling of exhaustion started to take over him. He didn't even realize he was trembling until Red Robin walked up behind him.

"What happened…" Tim started, choking on his words.

"It was a rubber bullet. But he did fall more than ten feet. He probably has a concussion."

Red Robin closed his eyes, taking a huge sigh of relief.

Dick stood up with Damian in his arms.

"Where's Dent?"

"With the police. He ran, but he didn't get far. I would have gotten him sooner, but there were more men outside ready to fight us. What about Scarecrow?"

"Gone. Jason showed up."

Tim froze at the mention of this, "Are you saying Jason shot him?"

Batman didn't stop to talk. As he walked away with Robin in his arms he gave a short, "Yes."

When Batman reached the Bat-mobile he lowered Robin into the passenger seat.

"Get back to the cave and make sure Alfred has the medical bay ready," Batman ordered Red Robin who stood behind him. There was no verbal reply, but the revving of an engine let Dick know his words had been heard.

Dick knew he should hurry back to the cave, but as he stood next to the passenger's side door, he felt his legs start to give way. He held on to the door. As he stared at Damian's still form, his headache made him close his eyes. Dick gripped the door tightly and centered all his energy. He used this energy to walk around and get into the driver's seat. However, he didn't have enough to drive and turned the car's auto pilot on.

He had to get Robin home.

* * *

Even before the car came to a complete stop in the cave, Dick was jumping out. He raced around to the side, his adrenaline now pumping, to grab Damian. After running to the medical bay and placing the boy down on the table, he pulled off the boy's domino mask.

"Alfred, I'm afraid he may have a concussion. He was hit with a rubber bullet and fell backwards off a pile of crates to the ground. Besides a nasty bruise, I don't think the bullet hurt him. If you don't count the loss of balance and the fall that is."

Alfred nodded in understanding, prepping for a brain scan.

As Dick pulled off the cowl and walked away from the medical area, he was greeted by an angry-looking Red Robin.

"I warned you about Jason," Tim said as he yanked off his own cowl.

"Tim, I wasn't worried about..."

Tim cut Dick short, "Well, you should have been, because Scarecrow got away."

Dick looked at his younger brother's angry expression. He knew Tim was mad. It was probably, because he felt guilty about the Red Hood being back out again.

"We'll get Jason, Tim," Dick softly reassured his brother.

Tim became frustrated, "Dick that's not the point! You should have listened to me."

Dick was done. The yelling was aggravating his headache, "Tim!" Dick paused as he breathing became more rapid, "I was not worried about Jason and did not prepare for his arrival. I'm aware of my mistake."

Tim stared at his brother when he finished. Dick was surprised by the words the came out next, "You look like crap, Dick. You've spent way too much time on this case in the past week. And you didn't ask for my help until things came to this."

Dick didn't know where Tim was going with this, but he didn't want to find out. He walked back to the medical area.

"Dick, are you just going to walk away from me?"

"I have to take care of Damian."

This sent Tim over the edge, "He's going to be fine. We've all had concussions. What you need to do is take care of yourself. You're not helping anyone if you get yourself killed. You're slower out there. You barely sleep. And you're becoming obsessive over a case."

He hadn't been obsessing over this case. _How would Tim know? He hadn't even been here for most of the past week. Besides, most of the week, the villains had laid low. _

"Maybe, it's best if you just leave for the night, Tim. Things are tense after tonight's events."

"You're kicking me out?"

Dick looked back at his younger brother, "No. You're just emotional since Jason is out…"

"Don't even try to psychoanalyze me, Dick. And you know what, I will leave, but not for the night. I'm headed out of Gotham in the morning."

"Tim…"

"No, Dick. I know you took up the mantle of Batman, but you didn't have to take up the mantle of Bruce, too, especially the bad parts. Besides, I told you. After tonight, I was leaving."

Dick was stunned. Beside him Alfred stopped tending to Damian, "Master Tim."

But it was hopeless. Tim walked back to his motorcycle, jerking his cowl back on. In a mass of engine noise, Tim was gone in a hurry.

"He didn't mean it, Master Dick."

Dick didn't respond. He stared at the ground and wondered if he should have told Tim about what Scarecrow had said. Apparently, there was a special toxin inside his blood, poisoning him as he stood there. Right now, he needed his brother more than ever.

He thought things were getting better, but now, they were being torn apart worse than before. Tim was leaving the country, Jason was back with a vengeance, and Damian was hurt. _How could everything go wrong so quickly?_

Dick could hear Alfred talking to him, but the words didn't make any sense. He stared at the older man. Suddenly, there were two Alfred's in his line of sight. Dick's face became one of confusion. He stumbled backwards as his legs buckled underneath him.

He felt the adrenaline rush leaving him and the headache returning in full force. Now, Alfred was yelling. No, both Alfreds were yelling, but it was just a dull roar in Dick's ears. Next thing he knew, Alfred was replaced by blackness as his head hit the cave floor.

* * *

**A/N part 2:** Ryan-Draven57, I really wanted to explain the situation after your review, but I didn't want to spoil this chapter. I'm glad you noticed, though.

I wonder what will happen to Dick? If I told you guys I didn't know, I would be lying.

Thanks for reading!


	7. After Effects

**A/N**: Sorry for the long update time. The end of the school year is the craziest. Anyway! Read on!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters, but I wish I did.

**Chapter 7: After Effects**

* * *

When Damian woke up, the pain in his head almost caused him to fall back into unconsciousness. He groaned as he shifted in the sheets. _Sheets? Where am I?_ Damian jumped up, but instantly regretted it, grabbing his head. After regaining some composure, he gained his bearings. He was in his own room laying in his own bed. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was Grayson yelling his name. _What had happened?_

"Master Damian, I would advise you lay back down," Alfred said, walking into the room holding a tray with food on it.

"What happened?" the boy asked, staring at the older man, ignoring the given advice.

Alfred didn't answer, but placed the tray down on the bed side table. He pulled out a pill container from his coat pocket, "One second, take these first."

Damian held out his hand and took the pills. He swallowed them reluctantly and accepted the water Alfred offered him. As he wiped stray water droplets off his lips, he asked again, "What happened?"

"You suffered from a minor concussion. You've been asleep for over twelve hours. I'm glad you finally woke up though, Dr. Thompkins was afraid you could slip into a coma."

Twelve hours? He hadn't slept an hour without nightmares in a week, and he had just slept for twelve. He didn't know if he should be happy or concerned for his health. He looked out toward his window. If he had been asleep since the incident last night, that meant it was probably around one in the afternoon.

Damian looked over at Alfred. The man's face was one of stress and tiredness. Had Alfred been that worried about him while he was sleeping?

"Where is Grayson?"

Instantly, Damian knew something was wrong. Alfred avoided answering the question and looked away, busying himself with preparing Damian's food.

So, Damian asked again, "Where is Grayson, Pennyworth?"

Alfred sighed, "He is ill, Master Damian."

"Sick?" Damian was concerned now. _How could Grayson let himself get the flu at a time like this?_ Scarecrow was loose somewhere in the city.

"Yes. Dr. Thompkins took blood samples last night. When she gets the results back, we should know what is wrong with him."

Damian rubbed his head as he got out of bed.

"Just where do you think you are going?"

"To see, Grayson. He shouldn't have gotten himself sick," Damian defiantly said. Alfred stared at the younger in disbelief.

"It's…" Alfred's voice trailed off, "It's more serious than your everyday illness."

Damian was confused now, "Then what is wrong with him?"

"Like I said, we are not sure yet. He passed out in the cave last night and hasn't awoken since."

Damian moved toward the door.

"Master Damian, you should get back in bed."

"T-t, I'm fine Pennyworth," Damian snorted. He wished he really was fine, but he had a major headache. He walked down the hall to Dick's room and opened the door. The curtains were drawn making the interior of the room dark. Damian walked toward the lump that lay under the covers. When he got close enough, he could see the man's head underneath poking out.

Dick was pale, very pale. His breathing was shallow, and overall, he did not look well. Damian became worried. Dick couldn't get hurt; they had too much to do. He had just come back out as Robin. He had gone to help Dick, not get him into more trouble.

"I'm sorry," Damian said to the lifeless form in front of him. Damian moved to the side of the bed and sat down. He looked around his older brother's room. As he stared at the dark walls, he found himself becoming tired again. He lay down at the foot of the bed.

When Alfred walked in after taking care of Damian's uneaten food, he found a comforting sight. Damian lay at Dick's feet, both boys sleeping.

* * *

Damian was awoken by a clicking sound. When he heard footsteps and hushed voices in the hall, he realized the sound was caused by the door shutting. He slowly opened his eyes, but there was nothing there. Whoever had shut the door had gone out. Damian stood up and walked toward the door. He quietly opened it and poked his head out. Down the hall, Alfred and Dr. Thompkins were walking away.

Damian left the room, shutting the door just as quietly as he had opened it, and followed the pair.

The medicine or the extra six hours of sleep he had gotten had helped his headache, which was now virtually gone. His head still hurt when he touched it, but that was probably due to a nasty bruise.

The pair in front of him entered his father's old study. Damian stood beside the door, placing an ear against it to listen.

"…anesthetic type drug…blood…"

Damian cursed when he realized he couldn't hear everything.

The doctor was still talking, "will be in coma….state…will destroy brain matter….knowing Scarecrow….cure."

Damian couldn't hear every word, but he understood the situation being described. Scarecrow had injected Dick with some special toxin that was destroying his mind. There had to be a cure. And if there was, Damian was going to find it.

* * *

Dick stared down at the carpet in front of him. It took him a minute but he realized the carpet looked familiar. He lifted his head and looked around the dimly lit room. Dick found himself sitting in his old apartment in Bludhaven. The one he had lived in before Blockbuster had blown it up.

Everything was the same as it had been. The Flying Graysons poster was in its place on the wall. The television was there, muted on the evening news. It was like nothing had ever happened.

As he sat there, the door opened and in walked Bruce. _Bruce?_

"What are you going here?" Dick asked confused. Now that he thought about it, what was he doing here? _This apartment had been destroyed. Was this a dream?_

"We're inside your mind," Bruce told him. Dick thought about this.

"So, you're not real?"

"Well, I am real. I'm just not physically real. But I'm technically you."

Dick stared at the figure standing in front of him. _What was going on?_

"So, are you like my subconscious?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Now Dick was really confused, "If you're **my **subconscious why are you Bruce?"

"Well, apparently, you base a lot of your decisions based on morals or judgments that Bruce put in your head. That, and I guess you thought it would be easier to talk to someone else than, well, yourself. That could get confusing."

"This is already confusing."

Dick stared at the couch as he ran his fingers over its fabric. It felt so real. Then, he heard something.

"I'm sorry."

Dick looked at Bruce in front of him, "Did you say that? Because that sounded like…"

"Damian?" The other interrupted, shrugging his shoulders in a matter of fact way, "Like I said, we're stuck in your own head, but you can still hear what's going on around you. You just can't respond."

Dick sat up straight, holding up his hands as if to signal a stopping motion. "Okay, okay. Let me just figure all this out. I'm me, you're me, and this is my mind which I'm trapped in because...," he tried hard to think. _What had happened that led him here?_ Then, he remembered, "the toxin?"

"Yeah."

"Why is my mind my old apartment?" Dick asked, looking around the room.

"This was your sanctuary. It was the first place you went that was truly your own. You take refugee here, even if now it is a place of painful memories."

Dick thought about the incident with Blockbuster. The people who had lived in this building had died, because of him. They wouldn't have been killed if he had just lived somewhere else.

"It wasn't your fault."

Dick stopped short and froze, "I didn't say that out loud."

Bruce laughed, "We're in your mind and I'm your subconscious. You really believe I don't know your thoughts?"

Dick felt like screaming. This was way too confusing. He turned away and stared at the television. There was footage running from old news reports he had once watched in real time. However, the words that ran across the screen were unreadable.

"You can't read in a dream," Dick murmured just to create noise. Bruce didn't respond though. _Why is this so confusing?_

"I know. It's very confusing."

Dick really wanted to scream now. He was talking to himself without having to speak. This was completely new to him, "You are so annoying."

"Hey, I'm you. So, watch what you say about yourself," Bruce replied smirking.

"Seriously, am I really this annoying?"

"You have no idea."

Dick paused, sighing, "Wait, if you are me, how would you know if I'm annoying?"

"That's what I said right? You have no idea."

"Oh, my, God," Dick muttered under his breath.

"I'm confused; did I answer your question?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Just stop talking, please."

"Did you forget I'm you?"

Dick was fuming now, "Okay, aren't I under the fear toxin? This isn't frightening. Well, sort of, but you know what I mean."

"I do know what you mean, I mean I am…"

"Stop, just stop," Dick interrupted, holding up a hand in Bruce's face. Suddenly, he found himself missing the real Bruce. He would give anything for the gruff seriousness and not this jokester attitude.

"Look, you are under the toxin, but your mind is trying to fight it. You were always the happy one in the family. You're trying to push back everything negative by being light-hearted and happy. It won't last forever. You should be happy while I'm here."

Dick pondered these words, staring at the television screen blankly, "How long until this is all over?"

Bruce laughed a deep, chilling laugh, "You won't get out of here. And I know we're supposed to be optimistic, but even you know when a situation is hopeless."

Dick sat there worried. Next to him, Bruce stood up and Dick tore his eyes away from the news footage to look at his old mentor.

"Where are you going?"

No answer.

"Hey, I asked you a question. Where are you going?" Dick said, standing up.

His subconscious turned around with a serious face, "I would tell you, but you really don't want to know."

It couldn't be a good thing if his mind was keeping the truth from him. _Was it really that terrible? What could be so bad that you would keep yourself from knowing about it?_ Now, he knew he was under the toxin, because that was terrifying: the unknown.

Dick watched as the door of the apartment slammed shut; the harsh sound making him jump.

He fell back onto the couch. Dick looked back up at the news footage which had been covering a major car accident. Now, the scene on the screen was a burning building. Firefighters, police officers, and civilians ran around, pain and fear etched in all their faces. That's when Dick noticed it. In the rubble, he saw Nightwing picking up debris, looking under it for someone, anyone who was still alive.

As he stared at the screen, the apartment around him caught on fire. Dick knew he should be scared, but he found himself becoming sad. All the lights went out, leaving only the glow of television lighting the room. He watched as Nightwing continued to search the debris. He wanted to reach out and tell the younger man it was hopeless, they were all dead. Everyone in the building was gone.

But there was nothing he could do. Inside the burning building, he could hear the screaming of former residents as their worlds were torn apart, their lives taken from them.

His subconscious had been right; he would rather be dealing with the confusion of talking to himself than watching and listening to the building's residents he had once cared for die all over again.

* * *

After Damian left the two talking in the study, he headed to the cave. The only thing he could think of doing was heading back to the scene of the crime. He was going to search the warehouse for any clues of where Scarecrow might have gone.

As he got dressed in his Robin gear, he constantly looked around to make sure Alfred wasn't going to sneak up on him. Luckily, he was on the motorcycle halfway to the warehouse before the older man even realized he was gone. Damian could hear the communicator ringing in his ears, but knew no good would come from answering it. Alfred would simply tell him to come back to the manor, which he wasn't going to do.

He was going to find Scarecrow and the cure. Grayson would be fine.

He had to be.

Damian pulled up to the warehouse, parked his bike, and headed inside. Once inside, he realized how hopeless the search was going to be here. The police had basically destroyed any evidence that could have been useful after they had left. As much as he liked Commissioner Gordon, some of the other officers were somewhat incompetent when it came to investigation work.

In vain, he walked around looking for anything, but after a few minutes he was sitting on the ground, leaning back against a pillar. Where could he go now? He could go interrogate Two-Face in jail. But Damian knew the villain wouldn't be intimidated by him, and definitely wouldn't give him any information.

He could find Jason. But that would require finding Jason, and that would be as hard as getting information out of Two-Face.

As Damian headed back to the cave, he realized he only had two choices. He would try the first one when he got back.

When Damian parked the bike and got off, the first thing he noticed was an angry Alfred standing by the computer. _He must have been sitting there waiting for me to get back. _

"Master Damian," was all Alfred said as the younger approached him, taking off his mask.

Before Alfred could say anything else, Damian started, "Pennyworth, please to not lecture me on going out. I am just trying to find the cure for Grayson."

Alfred's eyes got big in momentary shock, "How did you know…"

"I overheard the doctor and you talking about it. If you wish to keep something secret, you should try to be quieter about it," Damian snorted.

Alfred sighed, "Master Damian, I appreciate you trying to help, but going out in Gotham alone as Robin could make the situation worse if you get hurt yourself."

"T-t."

"I mean it. You are not to go back out alone."

Damian stared at the older man with narrow eyes, "Then how do you expect Grayson to get better?"

Alfred was silent and stared at the glaring boy. After a few moments he whispered, almost inaudibly, "I do not know."

Suddenly, Damian felt guilty for being harsh toward the older man. He had already lost one important person this year just like Damian had. Losing Grayson could be bad for the both of them. But losing Grayson and himself, would be worse for Alfred.

"I'll be careful and won't go out alone until I have a definite lead," Damian bargained.

"Fine, Master Damian."

Well, that was easier than he had expected. Alfred was so stressed and tired he could barely argue back.

"I am headed to bed. I want you to do the same," Alfred informed the boy.

Damian snorted, "Fine, Pennyworth."

Alfred gave him one last look before heading off to bed. Soon, Damian found himself once again standing alone in the cave.

* * *

The flames had engulfed him. One minute he had been having a conversation with his subconscious on his old couch, and then, all hell broke loose. The building had burned to the ground around him. He hadn't moved, just sat on the couch, watching television. The couch and television were the only two items that hadn't burned in the fire.

Dick finally looked around. He was outside. He could see Nightwing searching in person instead of watching it happen on the screen in front of him. He was going to look away when the vigilante's eyes locked with his.

"Why didn't you do anything? This is all your fault."

Dick wanted to look away from the pain stricken face, but he couldn't. He remembered how it had felt. The anger, the sadness, everything had come crashing down so quickly. First it was the circus and then it was his apartment building. Blockbuster had managed to destroy his entire world within a matter of days.

Dick tore his eyes away from Nightwing, clasping his head in his arms. The screams from earlier became louder. He tried shutting his eyes, willing the feelings that were welling up in his chest to go away.

It all felt so real. Even the flames that had engulfed him before had literally burned him. Not completely of course, but the smell of burning flesh and hair had been there.

Nightwing continued yelling at him, trying to scream above the victims. Dick only shut his eyes, willing it all to end. It was his mind. He had to have some control here.

He took a deep breath and realized it was suddenly quiet. He opened his eyes and realized he was inside again. He knew this place. Dick was sitting in the large chair in front of a large wooden, antique desk. He was in Bruce's study back in the manor.

Behind the desk Bruce sat.

"Bruce?"

No answer.

"Are you my subconscious again?"

The Bruce behind the desk did not answer, but gave him a confused look. The man leaned forward to rest on his elbows, placing his chin in his hands. Bruce stared at him as if trying to read him. Finally, he spoke.

"Subconscious? Dick, what are you talking about?"

Okay, so this wasn't the Bruce from earlier. Maybe making Bruce his subconscious would prove to more confusing than if he had just made it himself.

"Nothing," Dick replied.

"I only have one thing to say to, Dick," Bruce said, ignoring the earlier statement Dick had made.

Dick became intrigued, "What is it?"

"I told you not to become Batman," his old mentor answered.

The statement shocked Dick. This is not what he had expected.

"Don't become Batman?" Dick repeated questioningly, as if he had heard incorrectly. In Bruce's last message to him, his mentor had told him not to take up the Dark Knight's mantle. He remembered receiving that message and the chaos that had followed Bruce's supposed death at the time. Everyone had wanted Bruce's legacy as Batman to continue. The Batman was a symbol for Gotham. Just because the man behind the cowl was only human, it did not mean Batman was supposed to be, too.

However, Bruce had told him not to follow in the older man's footsteps. Dick had been torn between honoring Bruce's last request and what everyone else was telling him. In the end, Dick became Gotham's savior.

"Yes, I told you not to and you did."

Dick was brought back from his thoughts. Suddenly, he found himself becoming angry.

"What did you expect me to do Bruce?"

The man in front of him did not react to Dick's sudden change in attitude, but simply narrowed his eyes.

When he didn't get a response, Dick continued, "Seriously, Bruce, what did you expect? For Tim to take over, Jason, or even Alfred for goodness sake? Who else was supposed to take over? You knew I was the only one at the time, but you told me not to. It was like you wanted to make it look like you cared, when in reality, it was all a part of the plan."

Dick was practically yelling now. And he had gone from leaning back in the chair to sitting on the edge of it.

"You knew that if you asked me to take over I wouldn't do it, because I would feel forced. However, by asking me not to, I would feel obligated. In the end, you always knew I would do it."

Dick finished his rant. The only sound in the room was his ragged breathing. The man just sat there, emotionless. The silence became too much.

"Why do you never feel anything?" Dick yelled.

"I don't understand why you're yelling at me, Dick. I'm not even real."

Then, it hit him. This wasn't Bruce. Everything he was saying was just in anger, but it was too late. Bruce would never hear his words. The emotion he had longed for from his mentor when he was alive would never happen. It was too late. Bruce was gone.

Even if Tim believed their old mentor to be alive, he knew it wasn't true. He had carried the body into the cave himself.

Dick didn't know if you could cry in a dream, but tears stung at the corners of his eyes.

"You're weaker than you let on to be, Dick. I'm disappointed in you."

"Well, just add your name to the list of people disappointed in me," Dick sighed. Once again, he found himself staring at all too familiar carpet. This time, however, it didn't catch on fire. It didn't have to though, Bruce's eyes were burning a hole into him that could catch on fire any second now.

* * *

Alfred had left the cave over an hour ago.

As soon as the older man had left, Damian had gone back to contemplating his two options he had thought of earlier.

Now, he stared at the communicator in front of him. _Was he really going to do this? Was this really necessary? He could simply go on to his second choice._

Finally, Damian opened the communicator in front of him and pressed a few buttons. He listened to the static at first, but finally the connection was made.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end spoke. Damian sat there for a second. He really didn't want to do this.

"Drake," was all Damian could manage at first. He did not need help from his older brothers, especially Drake.

"Damian? What do you want?" Tim asked on the other end, seeming annoyed.

Did he truly need Drake's help? No, he didn't. He could find the cure for Grayson on his own.

"I'm glad you finally decided to leave and allow me to fully take on the mantle of Robin. I'm glad you've accepted how things are meant to be."

Damian could sense the anger on the other end. As the static returned, signaling the end of the connection, Damian stared at the communicator. Did he truly not need help? Of course he didn't need any help. He was Damian Wayne.

It was on to plan B.


	8. Help Wanted

**Disclaimer:** I do not own this characters and will not be making a profit off this story.

**A/N**: It seems I've gotten into the habit of updating every Sunday night now. Unfortunately, I will not be able to do so next Sunday due to a school trip, but I will as soon as I can. I'm sorry for any mistakes I may have written in this chapter. School is just crazy right now and its affecting my writing, I just know it.

Anyway, thank you for the wonderful reviews and follows. You guys make me want to write this whole thing in one day!

**Chapter 8: Help Wanted**

* * *

Something was different about the city tonight.

It felt different; it felt less tense than other nights. It was probably due to the Batman's absence last night. The man in black hadn't been spotted since the incident with Scarecrow and Two-Face down at the docks.

Jason sat on a rooftop and looked out over the ledge. Only one night without the Batman and the whole city felt different. He could do whatever he wanted with no threat of being caught. But tonight Jason didn't want to do anything. As he stared out at the dark city, he kicked out his dangling legs underneath him like a small child on a swing.

Any normal human being would be terrified to sit with their legs hanging over a skyscraper. But for Jason, this was nothing. Matter of fact, jumping off it into the abyss below was nothing for him.

"I wonder where the Batman is," Scarlet quietly stated behind him.

There were a lot of things Jason could say. He could joke about how his brother was probably scared after their last run in, or how he was possibly saving a kitten out of a tree. But Scarlet didn't know Grayson like he did, so he responded with a simple, "Same."

"So, what should we do tonight while he and his pugged face partner are gone?"

Under the red helmet, Jason scrunched his face as he thought about this question. Jason didn't know why he wasn't immediately prompted to go out. This was his chance to show the city that Scarlet and he were the true dynamic duo for Gotham. For goodness sake, the real pair was making it rather easy to make them look bad by not being out fighting crime.

But, the motivation wasn't there. For the first time since Dick had become Batman, he didn't feel like ruining his brother's reputation.

Maybe he was just under the weather. He had to be. Why else wouldn't he take advantage of this situation?

After a few more moments, Jason answered Scarlet's earlier question, "I guess we can just patrol the city for a little bit. I'm not up for a full night's work."

Scarlet gave the Red Hood a quick glance, "Everything okay?"

"Couldn't be better," he lied. Technically, it should be true. Tonight, there was no Batman out. Jason couldn't prove Batman wouldn't come out, but something told him the Dark Knight wouldn't be an issue.

* * *

Tim had thought about calling and apologizing to Dick for storming out of the cave the other night, but Damian's call had made him too angry. Dick couldn't even keep control of the kid inside the cave. How would he ever be able to do it out on patrol?

Ever since the call, Tim was on edge. Earlier that night Damian had called him from the cave to simple mock him. Even still, he felt like something was wrong. Would Damian really take the time out of his day to give him attention, even if it was negative?

Tim decided it wasn't worth worrying about right now. He had just arrived in an international city in hopes of discovering evidence that Bruce Wayne was alive. Did he really think wasting energy worrying about Damian was worth jeopardizing his main goal?

No, he didn't.

Besides, it was probably nothing.

* * *

Damian crouched on the ledge of the building, staring out toward the apartment's window. This was the address Dick had searched when he had gone out all those nights ago. This was where he had found the information regarding the warehouse deal that ended up with Dick being bed ridden.

The file had mentioned a girl; a girl who Damian had never seen or heard of before in his young life.

Brianna Bice. The name was the only thing on his mind.

He was more than prepared to confront some street urchin and get information, but his target was currently vacating her apartment. The girl was making multiple trips back and forth from the apartment to the car parked on the curb right outside the building's front door.

Damian figured catching her by the car in public while costumed would probably draw too much unwanted attention. So, he was waiting for her to go back into the apartment where he could confront her with the least amount of interference.

As his target went back through the front door to head back upstairs, Damian made his move. A small red blur streaked the sky as it jumped from one rooftop to another, and glided at the end of a grappling hook onto the ledge outside the desired window. He quickly maneuvered the window open. As he did, Damian noticed a small indention on the windowsill. Someone had used a lever like device to get in here before. For some reason the young boy instantly thought of his older brother. Dick had done that, he knew it, which meant he was in the right place.

Damian dropped down into the smallest kitchen he had ever seen. He looked around at the bare walls and sat down at the kitchen table.

The young Robin barely acknowledged when the apartment's door creaked open and a young, brown haired woman walked inside. Brianna walked through the living room making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. When she finished, she moved to the rest of the rooms leaving the kitchen for last.

Robin finally turned his masked eyes when a small gasp and a thud reached his ears. The girl was flat against the kitchen wall as she gawked at the young boy at her table.

"You act like you've never seen a vigilante before," he paused, putting on a serious face and glaring, "which I know isn't the case."

The girl composed herself, removing the surprised expression of her face, "What are you doing here?"

Damian hadn't come here for this. He didn't want to hold a conversation, he simply wanted answers.

"I'm here, because of you."

This time Brianna was the one to glare, "What are you talking about short stuff?"

Robin snorted, "My partner."

Brianna's face softened a little at the Batman's mention. Damian wasn't sure if he had seen it correct, but he thought he saw a slim amount of guilt in her eyes as she looked away.

"What about him?"

So, she was going to play dumb.

"You know exactly why I'm here. You sold him out. You set him up, didn't you?"

The anger in his voice was apparent. This girl was the reason Dick was in trouble, and he had tried to help her. Of course. His older brother was too nice. He would try to help anyone who needed it, even if they informed him they would shoot him immediately afterwards.

The girl turned her glossy eyes to him, "I didn't want to. I pro…"

Damian held up his hand to stop her. He didn't want to hear her apology. It was too late. Dick was already in trouble. Her apology wouldn't undo the events of last night.

"Where is Scarecrow?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, "I-I don't know," she stammered out.

"Sure you don't. I'll ask again. Where is Scarecrow?" Robin asked, this time angrier.

"You don't understand," Brianna started, lifting her arms in a desperate plea, "I have no idea. I only did what they told me, because if I…"

Her words were making his headache worse. He couldn't listen to her pretend like she didn't know. Damian interrupted her yelling, "All I asked was where is Scarecrow!"

Her mouth remained open, her words unfinished. As she closed it, the tears fell. Damian rolled his eyes behind his mask. Of course, she would cry. My goodness.

"Please, just let me explain."

Damian could feel his temperature rising in anger. He was sure by now the tips of his ears were bright red. He didn't know why this was causing him to be overly emotional. He needed to remain calm and get the information he needed.

"Fine." If he didn't let her talk, this conversation wasn't going to get anywhere, anytime soon.

She sighed, wiping her cheeks, "Look, I didn't want to hurt him. But Scarecrow, he threatened me. His thugs found me in some stupid bar downtown and dragged me to some back room. They told me the big guy needed a favor. I told them no," her voice cracked as she continued, "I told them to leave me alone."

The tears fell from her eyes again, and her voice became quieter.

"They threatened to kill my landlady."

Damian scrunched his face in confusion. Who cares that much about their landlord? Wouldn't it be a good thing if the person who asked you for money once a month was out of the way?

"And?" was the only word that came out of Robin's mouth.

Brianna looked at him with a begging expression. Was she surprised he didn't understand?

"Sh-she's like my mom."

Then, it hit him. She cared about this lady. Damian could have hit himself in the head for being so ignorant. He had forgotten people all seemed to have the same weakness, love. What was the point of caring for someone when they would eventually leave you anyway? He would never understand.

"I couldn't let them get to her. After everything she has done for me. She lets me live here rent free. I promised her one day I would pay her back. And I will. I definitely will. But until then, I can't let anything happen to her."

Damian turned away to stare at the wall and rub his temple. He still wasn't getting the information he needed.

The girl continued desperately, "You have to understand. You'll do anything to make sure the people you love are okay. Like your partner. I don't know who you are in relation to him, but I know you care about him as much as I do for my landlady."

She stopped, giving Robin a hopeful expression.

_You'll do anything to make sure the people you love are okay._

No, Damian Wayne did not love. Love was a weakness; a weakness that people used to torment others. Villains would pay good money to know about their enemies loved one, because it was a weakness. The ultimate weakness.

Then, he thought of Dick back at the manor. He thought of his brother's pale face. Dick's quietness was shocking enough for Damian, but the fact it could possibly be permanent destroyed him.

What would he do if he never heard another pun, if his hair was never rustled against his will again, or if he was never able to go out on patrol with the oldest again?

Who would take care of him?

Who would let him be their weakness? Who would love him?

Brianna watched as Robin silently fell back onto the kitchen table's chair. She moved toward the table and sat across from him.

As he stared blankly at the wall, she grabbed his gloved hand.

"Look, I'm so sorry. I didn't want him to get hurt. I figured the Bat could take care of himself. I mean, he's faced worse things, right, and never gotten hurt."

Robin looked up at her face as he thought of his father. He wanted to tell her she was wrong. The Bat did get hurt. He was only human underneath the Kevlar.

"I don't know exactly where Scarecrow is, but I know he doesn't usually keep his promises. Even though I did what he asked of me, I know he isn't done with me. He's afraid something like this will happen," she pointed between the two of them, "you talking to me, and me talking to you."

Robin remained silent as she gripped his hand tighter.

"I'm risking my own life by not running away from you. But I do want to help you. Your partner was nice to my landlady. She told me he promised to keep me safe. She says, for a man in a black suit, he emitted more hope and light into her life than there had been in a long time," she stated with a small smile.

At the mentioning of Dick, Robin found himself staring into the girl's eyes, hanging on to every word.

"I'm leaving Gotham for good. I packed everything I owned, and I'm taking my landlady. We're headed out right after this conversation ends, because she is probably wondering where I am right now. But this is the only information I have for you."

Damian sat up straighter and readied himself.

"Scarecrow is meeting up with some of his partners tonight. They always met at the bar where they caught me the first time. It's called the Howler and it's downtown. I'd tell you the exact address, but I don't know it by heart. A few of the guys who work there, who I've been friends with forever warned me about tonight. They told me to get out of town, before my name was mentioned at that meeting."

She gave Robin's hand one last squeeze before setting it back down on the table and standing up. As she walked back toward the apartment's door, she looked back at the young vigilante.

"I hope he'll be okay. I'm sure he will be. From what I can tell, he always is."

Damian lifted his eyes off his hand and stared at the brown-haired girl.

"Thank you," he whispered, barely audible.

She gave him a smile and left, the sound of the door closing echoed long after she had left. Damian could hear the old car starting up through the open window, and listened until he could no longer hear it's worn out engine.

He leaned forward and rested his head on his hands, elbows on the table.

It looked as if Plan B just became Plan C.

He had a meeting to attend.

* * *

The sound of the circus was always pleasing to him. Dick wandered around the tents, carts, and cages that were laid out in front of him. It was exactly how he remembered it.

Dick smiled as small children dragging their parents behind them ran past him yelling something about cotton candy. It was so lively and happy here.

Dick continued standing and smile when he heard it. It was the sound of a rope snapping. The screams filled the air and the sound of running footsteps flooded his senses. Before he knew it, people were all around him, running into him and pushing him around. He tried to maintain his balance, but it was too much. Dick found himself face down in the circus dirt in the middle of the human stampede.

He covered his head, but it was hopeless. Men, women, and children ran over him, some even tripping when they collided with his body. He thought it would never end, but just as quickly as it had started, it ended. He lifted his dirty face and watched as the last person ran away from him to who knows where.

He sat back up and took a deep breath. After several more, Dick pushed himself back to his feet, brushing off as much dirt as possible, which wasn't much.

He looked around him now. The carts were all turned over, spilling their now ruined contents on the road. The tent in front of him had been ripped open in some spots where people had clawed their way out.

He neared the closest man torn hole in the tent and entered. He prepared himself for the sight. He knew what was going to happen.

The image of his parents lying in the middle of the ring had haunted Dick's mind for years. Even today, the image would still creep its way into his dreams every now and then.

But now, he was prepared for it.

However, he wasn't prepared for what he actually saw. Instead of his parents it was every other person from the circus who lay in ring; Mr. Haly, the old animal keeper, the clowns, other performers…all people who he had once considered his other family. Dick couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene until he heard the most pathetic elephant trumpet ever coming from his side. He turned to run toward the sound, but was halted.

"Dick."

Dick was startled at the sound of his name. He looked for its source but he didn't find it.

"Dick," the small voice called again. It sounded familiar, but Dick couldn't hear it well enough to place a finger on who it was coming from.

He moved throughout the tent avoided the bodies in the middle of the ring.

"Dick," the voice said, as a hand was placed on his shoulder, turning him around.

"Kory," Dick gasped.

In front of him, the Tamaranean princess stared at him with her bright green eyes. The long red hair fell down her back like it always had. He found himself overcome with emotion as the only other living being in the tent spoke.

"Oh, X-hal," she exclaimed as she looked him over, "you are dirty."

He gave a weak smile as he reached for her hand still holding on to his shoulder.

She pushed it away, however, and continued speaking.

"Well, you surely cannot come to my wedding looking like that."

Dick froze. Had he just heard what he thought he had?

She gave him a confused looked, "What? I sent you an invitation many Earth months ago. I am truly happy you can attend my event, but I really must go now."

She turned to leave and noticed the bodies in the ring.

"Do you know these people?"

Dick snapped back to reality as he stared at her blankly.

"No," he replied weakly, not wanting her to feel pity for him.

She snorted, "Good. As a princess, I cannot have common entertainer folks attending my wedding. Not that they could at this point anyway."

Dick listened to her words. He knew this wasn't the real Kory. He knew the real Kory would never have said those words, but it still hurt. It sounded like her, walked like her, and felt like her. In that moment, it was her.

Dick watched as she flew away, leaving him alone in the tent once again.

* * *

The Howler was the dirtiest place Damian had ever set foot in, ever. He had snuck into the ventilation systems from the roof and currently found himself on all fours trying to find his way to the back of the bar. As he crawled, he could hear the drunks below him, singing and yelling loudly.

He stopped to rub his temple again. This also was not helping his headache.

Damian took a deep breath as he continued forward. He went quietly as to avoid making too much noise. The further he got from the main room, the quieter the building became.

He had no idea where he was headed. Thinking back on it, he probably should have looked up the building's blueprints first, but Damian had been in too much of a hurry to do so. If he got there too late, the meeting could have already concluded. He couldn't waste any time. Dick needed him.

Damian froze when he heard a familiar voice speak.

"Two-Face's jailing is quite unfortunate, but it is not a deal breaker."

Scarecrow was talking and from the sound of it, Damian was right above him.

"Look here, you better get your stick out of your ass and come out of your cornfield, because we need him…"

That voice. It wasn't Scarecrow's, but he knew it as well.

"I said, it is not a deal breaker," it was Scarecrow who interrupted.

Damian found himself not breathing as he listened. With each line spoken, it seemed more and more people were joining the conversation.

"Crane, I know you think the Bat is down, but we can't underestimate him."

Damian could here Scarecrow take a long breath before he spoke again, "I promise you boys, he is not a problem."

There was a small pause before a small voice spoke, "I just think we should have a Plan B, just in case…"

"You lug head, listen to the big guy, he knows what he is talking about," the line was followed by a thick thud, as if someone had been hit in the head.

"Ow."

"Oh, quit your whining."

"Enough!"

It became deadly silent. Damian froze, not even daring to breathe while no one spoke. A creaking noise stopped his heart. The vent he sat in was starting to make the smallest noise as his weight started to take its toll.

_No, no, no._ Damian panicked as the sound became louder. Thankfully, Scarecrow began talking again, drowning it out.

"I don't want to hear you talking to yourself anymore, okay? Now, we have business to discuss, particularly our next move."

Damian listened intently, but his world fell apart as he did so. One minute had had been in the ceiling listening, and the next he landed on a table ten feet below. Robin groaned as the force took the air out of his lungs. It was the second time in two days he had fallen from a high height. His head was not going to be happy about this.

He shook his aching head, and pushed himself up into a seated position. Then, Robin lifted his masked eyes to gain his bearings.

Damian froze.

In front of him was Scarecrow. Even though he couldn't see the villain's face underneath the clothe mask, he knew it probably held the same shocked expression that was on his own.

An awkward cough made Robin jumped out of his skin, and he turned to find its source. That's when he realized, Scarecrow was by no means alone. He found himself staring at, what felt like, ever villain Gotham had to offer. Penguin gawked at him, the Riddler was smiling widely, and even the Ventriloquist and Scare-face gapped at him.

Damian swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. There was too many of them. How would he take them all?

It felt like hours, but it was only seconds before Scarecrow spoke after Robin's unplanned arrival.

"Well, looks like we found our backup plan."

Damian turned back to Sacrecrow. Finally, he gained control of his body and tried to get up, preparing to fight. But he was grabbed from behind by a large man. He tried squirming and kicking, but as a needle pierced his skin, he found the control of his body going away again.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the smiling face of Jonathan Crane who had taken off his mask to properly inspect his new prize.

* * *

Tim had finally stopped thinking about Damian's call, and was focusing on the mission at hand when his phone started vibrating.

"Oh, if you call me again, brat," Tim mumbled to himself as he pulled the device out of his pocket. He acknowledged that the call was coming from the manor and grimaced.

He answered the phone, "Look here, kid."

"Master Timothy."

Tim stopped.

"Alfred?"

The older man sounded so sad, or was it scared? Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

"Alfred, what's wrong?" Tim asked worried.

"It's your brothers," Alfred became silent, as if thinking of what to say.

When the butler didn't continue, Tim spoke, "What about them, Alfred?"

Alfred sighed, "The night you left the cave, something happened to Master Dick. He passed out moments after you left, and hasn't woken up since," another pause, "Dr. Thompkins discovered some special Scarecrow toxin in his blood. She's afraid…"

Alfred choked on his words. Tim didn't realize it, but he was shaking as he waited for Alfred to finish. It took a lot for Alfred to become this emotional. He hadn't heard this type of sadness from the older man's voice since they were told Bruce could possibly be dead.

"She's afraid," he started again, "he may not wake up. Without a cure, his coma could be permanent until it destroys him that is."

"Alfred, I didn't know."

"I know. But now Master Damian is missing, too. Last night I told him not to go out alone."

As Alfred spoke about the littlest Wayne, Tim thought back on the phone call. The boy had sounded a little unsure of himself. Had he been trying to ask for help?

"He went out anyway and hasn't been back. It's almost morning."

Alfred didn't have to ask, but Tim knew what he wanted to hear.

"I'm coming back, Alfred. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Alfred weakly replied, "Thank you."

Tim hung up and stared blankly at the phone. And he had thought it was nothing.

* * *

After Kory had left, Dick had gone back out to the trash littered dirt road and sat down.

As he picked at the grass, he heard it.

"Master Timothy."

Dick looked around thinking it was coming from inside his head, but it wasn't. Alfred was in his room and on the phone with Tim.

Dick listened to the whole conversation, and heard Alfred put down the phone after a weak, "Thank you."

Damian was missing? The boy couldn't be missing. He was probably just out getting rid of his bent up frustration or something, right?

It couldn't be possible. Things couldn't get any worse than they already were. They just couldn't.


End file.
